Champions Trophy: Great Britain hold world number one Australia to draw

Great Britain's men began their Champions Trophy campaign with an encouraging 0-0 draw against world number one side Australia.

Hosts GB are aiming to win the event for the first time and were indebted to goalkeeper George Pinner who made a series of saves to keep the game level.

Mark Glenghorne came closest to a winner for GB, but was denied by Simon Orchard in the Australia goal.

"As a team we pride ourselves on our defence," Pinner told BBC Sport.

"It really was a great performance with everyone throwing themselves in there, putting their bodies on the line and that's what you need to win tournaments."

The Champions Trophy in London sees six of the best teams in the world compete in the final major international tournament before this summer's Rio Olympic Games.

All six nations will face one another in the pool stage, with the top two ranked teams facing off for gold on the final day - those ranked third and fourth will compete for bronze.

Earlier on Friday, South Korea took an early advantage with a 2-0 defeat of Belgium, while defending champions Germany needed a late equaliser to salvage a 3-3 draw against India.

The GB men will face 2014 Champions Trophy runners-up India in their second fixture at 16:00 BST on Saturday and will be hoping for goal-scoring improvements.

They relied not only on Pinner but also two crucial video referrals, which overturned a penalty stroke and a goal, having both initially been awarded to Australia.

"We take encouragement from the result and we know the performance can get better," captain Barry Middleton told BBC Sport.

"Tournament hockey isn't always about who plays their best at the beginning, it's about if you can build through the tournament and finish strong and that's what we're looking to do."