COLOMBO, Sept 10: World champions Australia, twice surprised by India in the early stages of the ICC Champions Trophy one-day tournament, remain the side to beat in the 2002 edition starting Thursday.

Coach John Buchanan has warned the other sides in the prelude to next year’s World Cup in South Africa that the Australians were still getting better as they prepared to meet defending champions New Zealand Sunday.

“My role is to make the side concentrate, in the next six months, on the fundamentals, to make them play Test and one-dayers better than they currently do,” he said Monday.

Australia arrived for the Sept 12-29 event after dominating a one-day triangular series in Nairobi, where victory hopes against Pakistan were dashed because of a rain abandonment.

Hosts Sri Lanka, India and the unpredictable Pakistan side — all past world champions — will be boosted by their familiarity with traditionally slow Asian pitches.

Off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan could prove the key if Sri Lanka are to push their home advantage and assuage the pain of an abysmal showing in the 1999 World Cup after winning the tournament three years earlier.

“I don’t know about the first two or three games, but after that it will help slow bowlers rather than the faster guys,” he said.

Sri Lanka have a major fitness worry over their skipper Sanath Jayasuriya with the explosive left-hander struggling to be ready for the opening game against Pakistan.

“I am trying my best,” said Jayasuriya, who sustained a shoulder injury in a one-day tournament in Morocco last month.

India’s first choice team will take part after a long-standing sponsorship dispute was resolved. The row over the conflicting rights between the official tournament sponsors and the players’ individual sponsors was resolved after a teleconference between the International Cricket Council and the Indian board.

Sachin Tendulkar, who holds the record for aggregate and centuries in one-dayers, along with skipper Saurav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid have been in superb form during the four-Test series against England which ended in a 1-1 tie Monday.—Reuters