Squads announced for Super Series

The ultimate challenge to Australia's cricketing supremacy came a step closer today with the announcement of the ICC World XI squads of 20 players for the Super Series in Australia this October.

Heading a star cast of batsmen are Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara, Michael Vaughan, Rahul Dravid and Virender Sehwag who all average above 50 in Tests against Australia. Steve Harmison, Shoaib Akhtar, Muttiah Muralitharan and Makhaya Ntini are included among a potent squad of bowlers, while Andrew Flintoff and Shaun Pollock lead a clutch of world class allrounders.

After missing out on selection in the original squads of 30, West Indies captain Shivnarine Chanderpaul has been included in the ICC World XI Test squad after averaging more than 77 over his last 13 Tests. Another squad newcomer is Harmison, the England fast bowler. He has been picked for the one-day squad after some impressive form in the NatWest Series.

The strength and depth of the squads is highlighted by the quality of players that Sunil Gavaskar's selection panel has been forced to exclude. Missing from the original Test squad of 30 are VVS Laxman, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Chaminda Vaas, while no place could be found for Marcus Trescothick, Sanath Jayasuriya or Darren Gough among the one-day International specialists. The dream of taking on the world champion team has also ended for Andrew Strauss, Harbhajan Singh, Irfan Pathan, Naved ul Hasan, Danish Kaneria, Yousuf Youhana, Shoaib Malik and Andre Nel.

"It was an almost impossible task to cut down the original squads to just 20 players," said Gavaskar, the chairman of the selection panel. "To leave out players of the calibre of Laxman, Sarwan, Vaas, Strauss, Trescothick and Harbhajan Singh was very difficult. At the same time we also took current form into account, which is why Shivnarine Chanderpaul came into the Test squad and Steve Harmison forced his way into the reckoning for the one-day games."

While banking on proven performers, the selection panel of Gavaskar, Mike Atherton, Sir Richard Hadlee, Clive Lloyd, Jonty Rhodes and Aravinda de Silva also placed faith in a number of the game's brightest young stars. Brendon McCullum, Kevin Pietersen and Shahid Afridi have been chosen for their outstanding form in recent months and the impression made on seasoned judges who have monitored their performances.

South Africa has six players across both squads, Pakistan has five, England and India four, West Indies three and New Zealand and Sri Lanka each have two representatives.

The 20 players selected for the ICC World XI Test and ODI squads, by country, are:

With the final squads of 14 for the ODI series and 13 for the Sydney Super Test due to be selected in mid-August, Atherton said there is still time for players to stake a compelling case for inclusion over the next six weeks: "It must be disappointing for the guys who haven't made it into the squads of 20," he said, "but they shouldn't give up hope. Form and fitness will still be taken into account at the final meeting; we may need to replace injured players and if someone like Andrew Strauss for example has an outstanding Ashes series, there could be a case for us to consider bringing him in."

Of the 26 players selected, 14 are named in both the Test and ODI squads, six are included in the Test squad alone and there are six players nominated as ODI specialists. The final squads of 14 for the ICC World XI ODI team and 13 for the Test squad will be selected and announced in August, when a captain, or captains, will also be named. A World XI coach and management team will also be appointed.