Australia are desperate to win the only trophy that has eluded them since it began in Bangladesh in 1998, and are consequently taking it very seriously indeed.

Many of their key players have been adjusting to English conditions by playing in county cricket and there have been warm-up ODIs in a recent triangular tournament with India and Pakistan in Holland, and against Pakistan at Lord's last Saturday.

They are also back to full strength with the return of their top pacemen Glenn McGrath and Brett Lee, from ankle injuries.

The side is packed with talent, with McGrath and Jason Gillespie able to put the brakes on, and batsmen including Ricky Ponting, Andrew Symonds, Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden all capable of scoring at a frightening rate.

Australia's only worry is the recent form of captain Ponting, who after a run of five consecutive fifties, has had a series of low scores.

But any side that can afford to drop the man widely regarded as the best one-day batsman in the world, Michael Bevan, has frightening resources at its disposal.

Australia will be wary of the Black Caps, who are closing the gap on their role-model neighbours, but they will also be aware that they have beaten them six times in a row and, for all the talk of tough Kiwis, hold a significant psychological edge over them.

The Black Caps, however, were mighty impressive in going unbeaten in the NatWest Series against England and West Indies in June and July, and have looked a tougher unit since the return of John Bracewell as coach.

It is sometimes patronisingly asserted that their side is more functional than flamboyant, especially when fast bowler Shane Bond is absent.

But the lack of pace which exposes their attack in Tests in early summer is less of a weakness in one-day matches and there are plenty of compensating factors, such as the wily lobs of veteran Chris Harris, Stephen Fleming's form with the bat, and the length of their tail.

New Zealand's strongest suit, however, are their two world-class all-rounders, Chris Cairns and Jacob Oram.

The veteran Cairns made a match-winning hundred in the final of the Champions Trophy in 2000, and his batting remains as explosive as ever. Although his bowling has diminished in pace, he compensates by being one of the canniest of performers.

The more youthful Oram demonstrated his exemplary control of line and length in the NatWest Series and also provides orthodox and aggressive runs in the middle-order.

The sides meet in the first big match of the tournament on September 16 at The Oval, by which time both will have polished off the group's whipping boys, the USA.

The USA qualified by winning the ICC Six Nations Challenge in March in the United Arab Emirates by the narrowest of margins.

They tied for first place with four other teams, and only crept ahead of Scotland by a superior run rate of 0.027.

The squad is packed with players of Asian and West Indian descent including 42-year-old Clayton Lambert, who tormented England with his aggressive hitting in the Caribbean six years ago.

There are only two US-born Caucasians in the squad, an indication that the game has yet to spread from the recent immigrant populations to interest the wider American public.

A recent attempt to instigate a Twenty20 professional league failed because the ICC refused to sanction it, and cricket remains an amateur pursuit in the USA with only 10,000 players spread across 500 clubs in 29 leagues.

The USA had a historic role in playing the first international cricket match against Canada, but that was a long time ago, and their match against the world champions is the biggest mismatch in the tournament, if not in international cricket history.

The winners of Pool A will meet the top side in Pool D, likely to be England or Sri Lanka, on Tuesday September 21, in the first semi-final at Edgbaston.

9 Sep, 2004