Revised Australian squad for VB Series finals
Cricket Australia announced today that the National Selection Panel (NSP) has chosen a revised squad for the best-of-three VB Finals Series against India.
Cricket Australia
03-Feb-2004
Cricket Australia announced today that the National Selection Panel (NSP) has chosen a revised squad for the best-of-three VB Finals Series against India.
The 13-man squad is:
| STATE | AGE | MATCHES | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ricky Ponting (captain) | TAS | 29 | 192 |
| Adam Gilchrist (vice-captain) | WA | 32 | 183 |
| Michael Clarke | NSW | 22 | 18 |
| Jason Gillespie | SA | 28 | 63 |
| Ian Harvey | VIC | 31 | 66 |
| Matthew Hayden | QLD | 32 | 87 |
| Brad Hogg | WA | 32 | 41 |
| Michael Kasprowicz | QLD | 31 | 18 |
| Simon Katich | NSW | 28 | 3 |
| Brett Lee | NSW | 27 | 79 |
| Damien Martyn | WA | 32 | 141 |
| Andrew Symonds | QLD | 28 | 87 |
| Brad Williams | WA | 29 | 20 |
Paceman Andrew Bichel has been replaced by fellow Queenslander Michael Kasprowicz who returns to one-day international action following his role in Australia's success at the 2003 TVS Cup in India.
Kasprowicz has taken 11 wickets in the ING Cup this summer at an average of 15.81, claiming his season's-best figures of 4-19 against the Tasmanian Tigers at Bellerive Oval on 26 January.
Bichel will return to Brisbane this morning.
Simon Katich has been retained, in place of Western Australia's Michael Hussey.
Hussey, who replaced the injured Michael Bevan for Australia's last preliminary match of the VB Series in Perth on Sunday, has travelled to Hobart ahead of the RetraVision Warriors' Pura Cup clash with the Tasmanian Tigers at Bellerive Oval tomorrow.
Commenting on the squad, NSP Chairman Trevor Hohns said: "It is fair to say that Andy Bichel has not been bowling as well as we would like, and we feel that a spell at state level might help him recapture his form.
"Michael Kasprowicz deserves this opportunity. We were impressed with his work on the recent one-day tour of India, and his performances for Queensland over a long period of time have been first-class.
"The decision to leave Andy out of the side was a judgement call that we had to make.
"It is unfortunate for Michael Hussey who did a terrific job for the side on Sunday and it can be said that his strong performance was recognised by the selectors with a view to the future," he said.
Hohns also added that the date of announcement for the one-day international squad to tour Sri Lanka is still to be confirmed. Details will be advised in due course