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Going Dutch ahead of Champions Trophy
Three of world cricket's biggest nations are heading to Holland as part of their preparations for next month's Champions Trophy in England.
Three of world cricket's biggest nations are heading to the Netherlands as part of their preparations for next month's ICC Champions Trophy one-day tournament in England.
Australia, India and Pakistan are all competing in the Dutch event which begins on Saturday with a clash between the Asian arch-rivals.
All the teams will play each other once before a final on August 28 with all matches taking place at the 10,000 capacity VRA Cricket Club in Amstelveen, a suburb of Amsterdam.
Although the hosts are mainland Europe's leading cricket nation and have competed in several World Cups, they will not be featuring in this event where prize money totals 33,000 dollars.
However, the Dutch will face Pakistan in a separate match on August 30 and with profits from the event distributed between the three competing teams, the hosts will have to rely on gate receipts to cover their costs.
Fortunately for the Dutch, Saturday's match is a sell-out.
Australia began their successful World Cup campaign in South Africa last year with an 82-run win in a fiery encounter against Pakistan in Johannesburg where they collapsed to 86 for four before being rescued by a stunning 143 not from Andrew Symonds.
Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq, who played in that match, told AFP in Karachi on Wednesday: "Australia is the team to beat at international level and after the Asia Cup I hope that the team keeps the right momentum.
"Both the tri-series and ICC Trophy are great challenge for the young team and we are ready to do our best. The aim is to win both the events and we are capable of it."
