World champions Australia, suffering from injury losses and poor form, face Zimbabwe in a World Cup warm-up on Tuesday keen to put their troubles behind them.

Ricky Ponting will only be able to muster 12 fit players for the game in St Vincent with Andrew Symonds and Matthew Hayden injured and Adam Gilchrist on paternity leave.

Zimbabwe have lost 11 leading players through a comination of boycotts, anti-government protests and pay disputes since the 2003 World Cup - a huge blow for a side that has a small playing base at the best of times.

But Ponting, who missed Australia's recent 3-0 one-day series thrashing away to New Zealand with a back problem, insists there would be no let-up as his side looked to recover as well from their tri-series final defeat against England.

"It's a game. We're not going to treat it as practice. It's a full-blown game. The guys won't be out there having a net," the star batsman explained.

India, the 1983 champions, are itching to get on the field six days after arriving in the West Indies.

"It is pretty long before the first game, especially in conditions which are similar to our country," former captain Sourav Ganguly said.

"The sooner we start the tournament the better."

India play the Netherlands in a practice match later on Tuesday and will have another warm-up game against the West Indies on Friday before Sunday's opening ceremony in Trelawny.

That will be followed by another five days of practice in Port-of-Spain before the real action begins for the Indians when they open their campaign against Bangladesh on March 17.

Pakistan meet Canada in Trinidad where the minnows can at least rely on the local knowledge of one player in the shape of Anderson Cummins.

The Barbados-born fast bowler played for the West Indies team in the 1996 World Cup but has been living in Canada since.

Cummins played 63 ODIs for the West Indies, scoring 478 runs and taking 78 wickets, including 12 wickets at the 1992 tournament.

In Bridgetown, New Zealand go into their game with Bangladesh concerned by a shoulder injury suffered by seamer Mark Gillespie.

The 27-year-old's right arm reportedly lost all feeling on the marathon flight to the Caribbean and the problem has team doctors baffled.

(Article: Copyright © 2007 AFP)