Johannesburg: Australian coach John Buchanan on Sunday threw up a challenge to all rival teams saying it was up to them to raise their bars and meet the standards set by his all-conquering side. "Try and improve your game and bridge the gap," Buchanan said as Australia firmly established itself as the best One-day side with a comprehensive 125-run victory over India in the World Cup final on Sunday.It was Australia's second World Cup win on the trot and in doing so it becomes the first side ever to have won the coveted prize three times. Buchanan tried to be modest when asked to analyse what made the Australian team so good. "We do things that everybody else does. But probably a little bit better and more consistently," said the coach who replaced Geoff Marsh after Australia's World Cup triumph in 1999.Buchanan also said his team, which registered its 17th consecutive One-day win in the final, would not rest on the laurels and would try to improve further. "There is scope for every part of our game to improve. We want to take it upon our shoulders to see how we can improve."If Australia did not continue to raise its standards further, Buchanan said, "we will be doing ourselves a disservice and world cricket a disservice". Buchanan, who also guided Australia to its 16 consecutive Test wins, is the most successful coach the country has ever had. PTI

Extras:
It's not money, it's the standards that is dear: Ponting
We deserved to win the World Cup: Ponting

Tags: cricket, world cup 2003, world cup final, india versus australia, wanderers, coach john buchanan, geoff marsh.