Australian squad for 2004 ICC Under-19 World Cup announced

Cricket Australia today announced the 14-man squad to travel to Bangladesh for the 2004 ICC Under-19 World Cup, played from 15 February to 5 March 2004.

Team management - Bennett King (Coach), David Moore (Assistant Coach), Brian Freedman (Manager), Max Pfitzner (Physiotherapist).

The squad, announced at the Commonwealth Bank Under-19 Championship Series dinner in Brisbane tonight, will be captained by Tasmanian Tigers' rookie-contracted player Tim Paine.

Only one member of the squad - Victorian Bushranger Adam Crosthwaite - was part of Australia's 2002 Under-19 World Cup wining squad which claimed a seven-wicket victory against South Africa in New Zealand under the leadership of current Victorian ING Cup captain Cameron White.

Tim Paine, Adam Crosthwaite, Theo Doropoulos, Callum Ferguson and Stephen O'Keefe all led their respective states in the recent Commonwealth Bank Under-19 Championship Series.

Trevor Hohns, Chairman of the National Selection Panel, said selecting the 14-man squad was a difficult task.

"Selecting 14 players was a challenging assignment, but it is a healthy problem to have," said Mr Hohns.

"There were several outstanding performances at the Commonwealth Bank Under-19 Championship Series in Brisbane and many players demonstrated that they are capable of representing Australia at this level.

"We have selected a very flexible and well-balanced squad which we believe will be able to adapt to the various conditions we will face in Bangladesh next February.

"Of course with the huge array of talent available for us to choose from, there have been some unlucky omissions from the squad, however we believe this is the best team available to represent Australia at the tournament.

"After competing against each other at the Brisbane under-19 series, the players are keen to come together and perform for Australia.

"The squad leaves our shores on 1 February and we believe they are a very capable outfit who can defend Australia's World Cup title."

Sixteen teams will take part in the 2004 tournament - the 10 ICC full member countries plus Canada, Ireland, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Scotland and Uganda.

Australia will seek to defend its 2002 ICC Under-19 World Cup title when the tournament begins with Australia's first match, on 16 February 2004 against Canada in Rajshahi.

The squad's preparation involves three limited-over matches against the Indian under-19 side in the subcontinent on 4 February (Cuttack), 6 February (Eden Gardens) and 8 February (Eden Gardens).

The squad departs Melbourne on Sunday 1 February.

The Australian under-19 squad was chosen by a selection panel consisting of Australian Under-19 coach Bennett King, former Australian player and national youth selector Brian Taber, Cricket Centre of Excellence Director Trevor Robertson and Chairman of the National Selection Panel Trevor Hohns.

The draw for the ICC Under-19 World Cup is available on the ICC's official internet site at www.icc.cricket.org.