Low-hanging fruit for the hungry Aussies

In 1964, after winning the Ashes in England, Australia went over to Holland for a friendly game against the Dutch, and were rather embarrassingly beaten by three wickets. Forty years on, they travel to Holland again, to take on India and Pakistan in a triangular tournament, and once again, they are the overwhelming favourites.

No disrespect is meant to India and Pakistan by this: both sides have won more than they have lost in the last two years, but Australia have been in a league of their own. They have won 44 of the 53 one-day internationals they have played since the start of 2003, a win percentage of 85. In the same period, India have won 27 out of 49, while Pakistan have won 28 out of 48. Ricky Ponting has won 56 of the 70 games in which he has captained, a win-loss ratio of 5.6. Ganguly's is 1.22, while Inzamam's is 2.11.

The figures lay out the story accurately enough: this Australian side is one of the greatest one-day teams ever, a one-day version of The Invincibles, under a captain who will certainly end as one of the most successful; India and Pakistan are both strong up-and-coming sides, but not quite in the same league as Ponting's men.

Australia have never won the Champions Trophy, and that is their first big target this season. The Videocon Cup is just low-hanging fruit, a good tournament to get the players into match practice against decent opposition. Adam Gilchrist won't be there in Holland, and the world is still getting used to an Australian one-day side without Michael Bevan, but Australia's bench strength is still awesome.

India come into this tournament after a defeat in the Asia Cup final, and desperately need to get some kind of momentum going before the Champions Trophy. They have 15 men in their squad here, one more than they did at the Asia Cup, which means that they do have the batting back-up that they missed there when VVS Laxman was injured. Ironically, now some of their bowlers are falling ill, but they have enough back-up for that.

The Indian selectors, led by Syed Kirmani, probably India's greatest wicketkeeper, have made a serious effort to find a keeper-batsman who can relieve Rahul Dravid of his burden behind the stumps. But Dinesh Karthik, the man they have picked, is unlikely to play in this competition, as Ganguly has made no secret of his preference for the seven-batsmen strategy. Karthik may get a game at the NatWest Challenge a few days from now, though.

Pakistan may feel they were unfairly done in by the bonus-point system in the Asia Cup. Well, they begin this competition by playing India, whom they had beaten then, so here's an excellent chance to prove a point. Inzamam has done a difficult job with quiet dignity since taking over as captain, and has won 20 of his 29 matches in charge. Bob Woolmer's appointment as coach could play a big role in harnessing Pakistan's talent, and their progress will be interesting to watch over the next few months. There are bound to be patches of outstanding play, but can they perform consistently over an extended period of time?

It isn't yet known how the pitch at Amstelveen will behave, but expect some high-scoring matches. The straight boundaries are less than 60 yards away, and there are plenty of big hitters on both sides who will relish the opportunity to hit some sixes. Shahid Afridi, Virender Sehwag and Matthew Hayden must all be licking their lips, and the spinners won't fancy bowling to Ganguly and Inzamam either. The cricket will be entertaining and, fingers crossed, it will be hard-fought as well.