ACB announces initial squad of 30 players for 2003 ICC Cricket World Cup

Australian Cricket Board (ACB) Chief Executive Officer James Sutherland today announced that the National Selection Panel (NSP) has chosen an initial 30-man squad for the 2003 International Cricket Council (ICC) Cricket World Cup in South Africa.

Australian Cricket Board

02-Dec-2002

This squad will be reduced to 15 players by 31 December 2002, according to the guidelines set out in the Participating Nation Agreement between the ICC and the 14 countries taking part in the event.

The agreement stipulates that an initial 30-man squad from each nation must be submitted to the ICC by 30 November 2002 (or the first working day that follows), with the subsequent reduction to 15 players taking place by the end of the month.

Despite the selection of this squad, players who have not been named can still be drafted in to represent Australia at the tournament.

The squad is:

1.	Michael Bevan	NSW	16.	Michael Hussey	WA
2.	Andrew Bichel	QLD	17.	Justin Langer	WA
3.	Greg Blewett	SA	18.	Brett Lee	NSW
4.	Nathan Bracken	NSW	19.	Darren Lehmann	SA
5.	Ryan Campbell	WA	20.	Jimmy Maher	QLD
6.	Stuart Clark	NSW	21.	Damien Martyn	WA
7.	Michael Clarke	NSW	22.	Glenn McGrath	NSW
8.	Adam Gilchrist	WA	23.	Ashley Noffke	QLD
9.	Jason Gillespie	SA	24.	Ricky Ponting	TAS
10.	Brad Haddin	NSW	25.	Andrew Symonds	QLD
11.	Ian Harvey	VIC	26.	Shane Warne	VIC
12.	Nathan Hauritz	QLD	27.	Shane Watson	TAS
13.	Matthew Hayden	QLD	28.	Cameron White	VIC
14.	Mark Higgs	SA	29.	Brad Williams	WA
15.	Brad Hogg	WA	30.	Damien Wright	TAS

Commenting on the players chosen, NSP Chairman Trevor Hohns said whatever the eventual make-up of the travelling party happened to be, it would contain sufficient depth for the tournament.

"This is really the first phase in selecting the squad to attend South Africa for the 2003 World Cup," Hohns said.

"There are a number of players we need to continue looking at over the coming month as we move to cut the squad by half.

"That will be a challenging task because there are several players that could fill a variety of positions for us at the World Cup.

"So far we have selected a healthy mix of players - batsmen, bowlers, all-rounders and three wicket-keepers, which gives us a broad range to choose from when finalising our list," he said.

The Australian side is scheduled to depart for the ICC Cricket World Cup in South Africa on Wednesday 29 January 2003 following the Allan Border Medal presentation on 28 January.