Australia's Test team of the Century to be selected

A hand picked Academy of 20 cricket luminaries will select Australian Cricket's Test Team of the Twentieth Century the Australian Cricket Board announced today.

All former and current Australian Cricketers have been invited to a celebratory luncheon on 18 January 2000 at Sydney's Darling Harbour to be hosted by the Australian Cricket Board and the Australian Cricketers' Association to celebrate a century of Australian Cricket. Over 150 former and current players have confirmed their attendance.

The celebration will include a parade the following day at the Sydney Cricket Ground during the dinner break of the Carlton United Series match between Australia and Pakistan.

The twelve member team will be announced at the luncheon by ACB Chairman Denis Rogers.

The following have been invited to be members of the Academy are:

Arthur Morris, Bill Brown, Neil Harvey, Richie Benaud, Bob Simpson, Bill Lawry, Ian Chappell, Greg Chappell, Kim Hughes, Allan Border, Graham Yallop, Mark Taylor , Steven Waugh, Lord Colin Cowdrey, Sir Alec Bedser, Sir Garfield Sobers, Sunil Gavaskar, Mike Coward, Peter Roebuck & Phil Wilkins

ACB Chairman, Denis Rogers, will act as a non-voting Chairman of the Academy.

Each member of the Academy has been asked to select a team comprising:

The final team will be announced in batting order and will include a Captain and Vice Captain.

Each nomination a player receives will count as one vote to the final team. Provided the top twelve vote receivers form a team in keeping with the team balance prescribed above, they will form the Australian Test Team of the Century.

The team, the Chairman can at his discretion consult with one former Australian Test player who is not a member of the Academy to assess the balance of the team.

Should it be identified that there is an imbalance in the team the Chairman is obliged to:

1. Exclude the player(s) from the relevant category with the lowest total votes who are creating the imbalance:

2. Include the next highest vote recipient from the relevant category necessary to provide the necessary balance.

In the event of a tie, the Chairman shall first refer solely to the votes of the current and former Australian players within the Academy. Should the vote remain tied, the Chairman shall then refer to a former Australian Test Captain who is not a member of the Academy for a decision.

Once the first eleven places have been filled, the twelfth player selected will be the player with the next highest votes (excluding a wicketkeeper). The twelfth player shall not be separately identified when the team is announced or at any time subsequently.

For bookings to the Celebration of a Century of Australian Cricket luncheon contact Ariana Aljinovic at Markson Sparks! on 02-9699 2000.