The start of the World Cup is still three months away but the road ahead could not be any busier with Australia, England and New Zealand about to play a hectic month-long triangular series.
Australia are overwhelming favourites to win the series and captain Ricky Ponting said he hopes to use the tournament to gain a psychological advantage over both opponents.
But middle-order batsman Mike Hussey, named last year as the world's best one-day player, said the Australians could not afford to take their opponents too lightly.
"England have got some fine cricketers, Australia have got some fine cricketers and I'm sure it's going to be a very tough series," Hussey told reporters.
"We've got a great rivalry with England, and New Zealand always perform very, very well against Australia."
England skipper Michael Vaughan admitted his team faced a tough time winning the tournament after the beating they received in the Ashes but were hoping they could at least restore some of their confidence in time for the World Cup.
"We realise that playing the number one one-day team in the world in their own back yard is going to be pretty difficult," he said.
"But there's no reason why we can't compete and try to beat them in a few of these games.
UNDER PRESSURE
"It's going to be hard, but there's absolutely no reason why we can't compete and put them under pressure.
"We've got a minimum of eight games, we play New Zealand in four. We've got to win to get into the finals and try to get some momentum leading into the World Cup. It's a crucial three or four months for all the teams."
New Zealand are also looking to regain some confidence after being bowled out for just 73 in their most recent one-day match against Sri Lanka this week with coach John Bracewell hopeful the collapse was a one-off.
"It's just a glitch that happened and the guys are determined to put that right," Bracewell told the New Zealand Press Association.
The tournament starts on Friday with Australia playing England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and finishes in mid-February.
The teams play each four times with the top two advancing to the best-of-three finals.
