Australia and South Africa have been given top billing for the ICC Champions Trophy 2004.
The groupings for the 12-team tournament will be based on the official One-Day International ratings on December 1, 2003, and with no further matches before this date, the ICC confirmed on Wednesday that Australia (136) and South Africa (118) are far enough of the pursuing pack to be seeded first and second respectively.
India's defeat to Australia in the TVS Cup final on Tuesday means it will have a rating of 105 when the groupings are announced, as it has also completed its schedule.
This currently puts India in seventh place and heading for a meeting with South Africa. But as all five of its closest rivals still have matches to play, it could still move up or down the table.
The rating of Sri Lanka - now third on 107 after beating England comprehensively on Tuesday - is only five higher than the rating of New Zealand, in eighth place on 103.
Before December 1, Sri Lanka still has two more matches to play against England, and New Zealand will play in Pakistan.
The West Indies - the other team in this six-way battle - has a five-match series in Zimbabwe.
Aside from Zimbabwe, any of these sides with matches to play could still claim a place as one of the tournament's top four seeds.
Matches in the ICC Champions Trophy 2004 will be played at three venues in England from September 10 to 25.
Groupings will be based on ICC ODI Championship standings on 1 December 2003 as follows: ICC ratings as on November 19 2003:
Pool 1
Pool 2
Pool 3
Pool 4
1
2
3
4
8
7
6
5
Qualifier
11
10
9
Rank
Team
Points
1
Australia
136
2
South Africa
118
3
Sri Lanka
107
4
Pakistan
107
5
West Indies
106
6
England
106
7
India
105
8
New Zealand
103
9
Zimbabwe
63
10
Kenya
28
11
Bangladesh
0
