Cricket: No keeping Cairns out of World Cup

The all-rounder is wanted in South Africa even if he can't bowl, says RICHARD BOOCK.

Chris Cairns will join a throng of the world's best cricketers at the World Cup in South Africa next month, even if he cannot manage to bowl a ball.

The country's highest-profile cricketer was yesterday named in the New Zealand tournament squad despite a last-minute appointment with the knee surgeon and a growing suspicion that his bowling days may be over.

Having not played a game for New Zealand this summer, his status as an all-rounder could not be confirmed, although New Zealand coach Denis Aberhart suggested the most important factor was his presence in South Africa.

"The most important place for him is on the plane to South Africa," said Aberhart, who added that the Canterbury all-rounder would not be pushed into rushing his recovery.

It was an approach that was also prevalent when Australia named their World Cup squad, including injured leg-spinner Shane Warne despite reports that he may not be fit until midway through the tournament.

The only notable omission was veteran batsman Steve Waugh, who missed out as expected, ending a World Cup career that included triumph as a player in 1987 and as captain in 1999.

In contrast, Pakistan opted to recall veteran opening batsman Saeed Anwar and all-rounder Azhar Mahmood for the tournament, and passed a vote of faith in captain Waqar Younis, who had earlier been touted as a possible casualty.

One of the strongest-looking sides on paper, the Pakistan squad also includes star all-rounder Wasim Akram, fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar and spin wizard Saqlain Mushtaq, as well as seasoned batsmen Inzamam-ul-Haq, Yousuf Youhana and Younis Khan.

England's selectors had little option but to gamble on fitness after losing almost half their players with one complaint or another, but were still able to pick a reasonable looking side, albeit one a shade short of star quality.

The talking point of the Indian side was the omission of batsman VVS Laxman, who performed strongly for most of the year before running into a lean streak in New Zealand. He was replaced by the left-handed Dinesh Mongia.

Young wicket-keeper Parthiv Patel has been selected as wicket-keeping cover for Rahul Dravid, who is expected to don the gloves for most games in South Africa.

South Africa, arguably equal favourites with Australia to win the tournament, appear to have a compelling mix of young and old as they attempt to repeat the effort of their rugby counterparts, who held the trophy aloft in their own backyard in 1995.

Well-established players such as Gary Kirsten, Herschelle Gibbs, Jacques Kallis, Mark Boucher, Jonty Rhodes, Allan Donald and Makhaya Ntini will be joined by the youth of Robin Peterson, Monde Zondeki and Boeta Dippenaar.

The biggest question over South Africa's fortunes surrounds the performance of the previously destructive Lance Klusener, who has struggled to maintain his consistency this year.

As for the West Indies, their hopes of adding to their cup triumphs in 1975 and 1979 have been boosted by the availability of left-handed batsman Brian Lara, who was included in the squad after his clearance from a mystery ailment - at one stage thought to be hepatitis.

The 33-year-old, who holds the world batting records for both test (375) and first-class (501 not out) cricket, has not played since the ICC Championship in Sri Lanka in September, missing tours to India and Bangladesh.

The other interesting decision was the recall of fast bowler Nixon McLean, who has been extended a lifeline after his 44-match career stalled at the end of the 2001 series against South Africa.

The feature of the Sri Lankan squad was the recall of veteran left-hander Hashan Tillakaratne at the expense of hard-hitting wicket-keeper batsman Romesh Kaluwitharana, evidently on the grounds that more solidity was required in the middle-order.

Now 35, Tillakaratne will be Sri Lanka's reserve wicketkeeper, despite having played only two one-day games since the 1999 World Cup.

The only surprise in Zimbabwe's World Cup squad was the axing of the long-serving Alistair Campbell, who struggled in the 10 ODIs his side played this season.

In his place comes Dion Ebrahim, who has yet to score 50 against anyone apart from Bangladesh in 36 ODIs.

World Cup Squads

GROUP A

Australia

Ricky Ponting (capt), Adam Gilchrist, Michael Bevan, Andy Bichel, Jason Gillespie, Matthew Hayden, Brad Hogg, Brett Lee, Darren Lehmann, Jimmy Maher, Damien Martyn, Glenn McGrath, Andrew Symonds, Shane Warne, Shane Watson.

England

Nasser Hussain (capt), James Anderson, Ian Blackwell, Andrew Caddick, Paul Collingwood, Andy Flintoff, Ashley Giles, Steve Harmison, Matthew Hoggard, Ronnie Irani, Nick Knight, Alec Stewart, Marcus Trescothick, Michael Vaughan, Craig White.




India

Sourav Ganguly (capt), Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Dinesh Mongia, Sanjay Bangar, Parthiv Patel, Ajit Agarkar, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Javagal Srinath, Anil Kumble, Ashish Nehra.

Namibia

Deon Kotze (capt), Jan-Berry Burger, Louis Burger, Sarel Burger, Morne Karg, Danie Keulder, Bjorn Kotze, Lennie Louw, Gavin Murgatroyd, Gerrie Snyman, Stefan Swanepoel, Burton van Rooi, Melt van Scoor, Rudi van Vuuren, Riaan Walters.

Netherlands

Roland Lefebvre (capt), Luuk van Troost, Reinout Scholte, Tim de Leede, Feiko Kloppenburg, Nick Statham, Daan van Bunge, Victor Grandia, Adeel Raja, Henk Jan Mol, Klaas Jan van Noortwijk, Edgar Schiferli, Jacob Jan Esmeijer, Bas Zuiderent, Jeroen Smits.

Pakistan

Waqar Younis (capt), Saeed Anwar, Saleem Elahi, Shahid Afridi, Taufeeq Umar, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Yousuf Youhana, Younis Khan, Wasim Akram, Rashid Latif, Saqlain Mushtaq, Shoaib Akhtar, Abdul Razzaq, Mohammad Sami, Azhar Mahmood.

Zimbabwe

Heath Streak (capt), Andy Blignaut, Dion Ebrahim, Sean Ervine, Andy Flower, Grant Flower, Travis Friend, Douglas Hondo, Doug Marillier, Brian Murphy, Henry Olonga, Tatenda Taibu, Mark Vermeulen, Guy Whittall, Craig Wishart.

GROUP B

Bangladesh

Khaled Mashud (capt), Hannan Sarkar, Al-Sahariar, Mohammad Ashraful, Habibul Bashar, Sanwar Hossain, Alok Kapali, Tapash Baisya, Mohammad Rafique, Manjurul Islam, Talha Jubair, Mashrafe Mortaza, Tushar Imran, Ehsanul Hoque, Khaled Mahmud.

Canada

Joseph Harris (capt), Ashish Bagai, Ian Billcliff, Desmond Chumney, Austin Codrington, John Davison, Nick Degroot, Nicholas Ifill, Davis Joseph, Ishwar Maraj, Ashish Patel, Abdool Samad, Fazil Samad, Barry Seebaran, Sanjayan Thuraisingam.

Kenya

Steve Tikolo (capt), Thomas Odoyo, Joseph Angara, Asif Karim, Hitesh Modi, Collins Obuya, David Obuya, Kennedy Obuya, Maurice Odumbe, Peter Ongondo, Brijal Patel, Ravindu Shah, Martin Suji, Tony Suji, Alpesh Vadher.

New Zealand

Stephen Fleming (capt), Nathan Astle, Mathew Sinclair, Craig McMillan, Lou Vincent, Chris Cairns, Scott Styris, Brendon McCullum, Chris Harris, Jacob Oram, Andre Adams, Kyle Mills, Daniel Vettori, Darryl Tuffey, Shane Bond.

South Africa

Shaun Pollock (capt), Mark Boucher, Nicky Boje, Boeta Dippenaar, Allan Donald, Herschelle Gibbs, Andrew Hall, Jacques Kallis, Gary Kirsten, Lance Klusener, Charl Langeveldt, Makhaya Ntini, Robin Peterson, Jonty Rhodes, Monde Zondeki.

Sri Lanka

Sanath Jayasuriya (capt), Marvan Atapattu, Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara, Aravinda de Silva, Russel Arnold, Jehan Mubarak, Avishka Gunawardene, Hashan Tillakaratne, Muttiah Muralitharan, Chaminda Vaas, Dilhara Fernando, Pulasthi Gunaratne, Prabath Nissanka, Buddika Fernando.

West Indies

Carl Hooper (capt), Ridley Jacobs, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Pedro Collins, Corey Collymore, Mervyn Dillon, Vasbert Drakes, Chris Gayle, Wavell Hinds, Brian Lara, Jermaine Lawson, Nixon McLean, Ricardo Powell, Marlon Samuels, Ramnaresh Sarwan.