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Steve Waugh left out of World Cup squad

Australia left out World Cup-winning captain Steve Waugh when they named a 30-man squad on Monday for their Cup defence in South Africa in February next year.

The Australian Cricket Board (ACB) did not name a skipper for the squad. However, Ricky Ponting has led the one-day side this year and was named on Monday to captain Australia in the opening two triangular series limited overs matches against England on December 13 and 15.

Ponting, who turns 28 later this month, was named captain of the one-day side when Steve Waugh was dropped from the team in South Africa earlier this year. Australia won that series 5-1.

Ponting's side lost to Pakistan 2-1 in Australia in June and reached the semi-finals of the ICC Champions Trophy in Colombo in September before losing to Sri Lanka by seven wickets.

Waugh remains Test captain and has led Australia to a 3-0 lead after three matches in the five-match Ashes series in Australia. However, the 37-year-old has been unable to win back his place in the one-day side which he led to victory in the 1999 World Cup final against Pakistan at Lord's.

Shane Watson, Ian Harvey, Andrew Symonds and Greg Blewett will be among those in the squad vying for the all-rounder's role in the side.

"This is really the first phase in selecting the squad to attend South Africa for the 2003 World Cup," Australia chairman of selectors Trevor Hohns said in an ACB statement on Monday.

"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."

The ACB said they would reduce the squad to 15 by December 31 for the 14-nation event. Players not named in the 30-man squad can still be drafted in to represent Australia at the tournament, the ACB said.

Australia:

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

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