Sri Lanka need an upturn in form to avoid ICC Champions Trophy preliminary round

It will take a dramatic upturn in form by Sri Lanka in the VB Series, which begins in Melbourne on Friday, to spare them from having to play in the preliminary round of this year's ICC Champions Trophy in India.

Only the top six sides in the LG ICC ODI Championship table on 1 April avoid that fate and as Marvan Atapattu's side are currently seventh, the need to improve on a recent record of nine losses from the past 11 matches is clear.*

That, of course, will be easier said than done as they are up against the top two sides in the table in Australia and South Africa.

But realistically Sri Lanka will have to win at least half of their eight qualifying matches - four each against the other two sides - to lift themselves above England, currently in sixth place, and possibly even India, a place and a rating point better off in fifth spot.

So, Sri Lanka have plenty to play for over the next month but so too do South Africa and Australia.

For Ricky Ponting's side there is the chance to extend their lead at the top of the LG ICC ODI Championship table. It is currently 17 rating points but could, conceivably, be at least 20 by the end of the qualifying matches if they win all eight they are due to play.

And that is South Africa's incentive in return: to try and claw back some of Australia's lead. If Graeme Smith's team win every one of their eight qualifying matches they could even be close to the top of the table themselves.

It is often said that one-day cricket is a batsman's game and if that is the case then one look at the LG ICC Player Rankings for batsmen offers a pretty good explanation of why theses three sides are in their current positions in the LG ICC ODI Championship table.

Australia have three players in the top four slots and a total of five players in the top 20. Ponting is top of the list with his best-ever tally of rating points followed by Adam Gilchrist in second place and Andrew Symonds in fourth. Michael Clarke (ninth) and Damien Martyn (19th) are further down the list.

And just outside the top 20 is Michael Hussey, 26th and fresh from not just a superb Test summer against the West Indies and South Africa but also following the Chappell-Hadlee ODI series against New Zealand when he was not dismissed.

The only man disputing total Australian dominance at the top of those LG ICC Batting Rankings is Smith. He is in third place, just short of his best-ever haul of rating points and will be desperate to improve on a Test series where he failed to reach fifty in six innings.

Smith is joined in the top 20 by fellow South Africans Jacques Kallis (13th) and Herschelle Gibbs (17th) with other members of their middle order lower down the list.

The big-hitting Justin Kemp is joint 41st, Mark Boucher is 43rd, Ashwell Prince is 47th and Shaun Pollock is 58th.

For Sri Lanka's batsmen it is not quite such a happy picture. Kumar Sangakkara is in eighth spot and Atapattu is 11th (both moving up the LG ICC Player Rankings after enjoying solid ODI series in New Zealand) but below them is a large gap to a team mate.

Sanath Jayasuriya, out of action with a shoulder injury, is 25th and Mahela Jayawardene is 33rd but after that duo the next Sri Lankan on the list is in 50th place - Russel Arnold.

In the LG ICC Player Rankings for bowlers the story is slightly more even as all three teams have two representatives among the top 15 places.

For Australia, Glenn McGrath - rested for the Chappell-Hadlee series and the Twenty20 match against South Africa - is top of the list (and like Ponting he is also top of the Test list too) with Brett Lee in second spot.

Sri Lanka are represented by Muttiah Muralidaran (4th) and Chaminda Vaas (6th) with the latter the leading wicket-taker in the ODI series against New Zealand, and South Africa have Shaun Pollock in third place and the injured Makhaya Ntini in ninth spot.

Outside that top 15 there are plenty of other bowlers who could conceivably play a significant role in the destination of the VB Series trophy. Andre Nel is 16th and Brad Hogg is 21st and below them are Andrew Hall (36th), Symonds (42nd), Farveez Maharoof (44th), Charl Langeveldt (45th) and Nathan Bracken (47th).

Pollock and Symonds are locked together in joint second spot in the LG ICC Player Rankings for all-rounders behind runaway leader Andrew Flintoff of England. Kallis, who bowled just 93 overs in 25 ODIs in 2005 is in 10th position, two places above Lee.

The schedule for the VB Series is as follows:

13 January - Australia v Sri Lanka, Telstra Dome, Melbourne
15 January - Australia v South Africa, Brisbane
17 January - South Africa v Sri Lanka, Brisbane
20 January - Australia v South Africa, Telstra Dome, Melbourne
22 January - Australia v Sri Lanka, Sydney
24 January - South Africa v Sri Lanka, Adelaide
26 January - Australia v Sri Lanka, Adelaide
29 January - Australia v Sri Lanka, Perth
31 January - South Africa v Sri Lanka, Perth
3 February - Australia v South Africa, Telstra Dome, Melbourne
5 February - Australia v South Africa, Sydney
7 February - South Africa v Sri Lanka, Hobart
10 February - first final, Adelaide
12 February - second final, Sydney
14 February - third final (if required), Brisbane

Full details of the current LG ICC Test Championship and how future results will impact on the table, as well as the LG ICC Player Rankings can be found here

* India, as hosts, will automatically qualify for the second stage of next year's ICC Champions Trophy even if they are outside the top six of the LG ICC ODI Championship table on 1 April 2006. If they are outside that top six then the sixth-placed side in the table will take part in the preliminary round.