Australia top the pile

Eight countries will contest the Champions Trophy in Pakistan in September

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Reigning champions Australia have been confirmed as the top seeds for September’s ICC Champions Trophy in Pakistan after the completion of the preliminary round of matches for the Commonwealth Bank Series in Melbourne.

The cut-off date for the determination of the seedings for the Champions Trophy is March 12, but with only the finals of the tri-series remaining, the ICC rankings cannot be changed irrespective of how the best-of-three final pans out.

South Africa, winners of the inaugural tournament in 1998 in Bangladesh, will be seeded second followed by New Zealand, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, England and West Indies in the eight-team competition.

The groupings will be announced on March 12.