Provisional 30-man teams for 2015 championship released
ICC Cricket World Cup squads taking shape
With just over two months remaining before the first ball is bowled in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, cricket boards are revealing their provisional 30-man squads.
The final 15-player squads will be announced in January ahead of the start of the World Cup, to be played across Australia and New Zealand from February 14.
Ryder out, Vettori in
Former Black Caps allrounder Jesse Ryder was omitted from an initial 30-strong New Zealand squad for next year's World Cup, after the 30-year-old withdrew from New Zealand A’s tour of United Arab Emirates last month citing personal reasons.
Former Black Caps skipper Daniel Vettori was included in the provisional group as he continues his comeback to international cricket after an injury-plagued last couple of years.
New Zealand: Corey Anderson, Hamish Bennett, Trent Boult, Doug Bracewell, Neil Broom, Dean Brownlie, Colin de Grandhomme, Anton Devcich, Grant Elliott, Andrew Ellis, James Franklin, Martin Guptill, Matt Henry, Roneel Hira, Tom Latham, Mitchell McClenaghan, Brendon McCullum, Nathan McCullum, Kyle Mills, Adam Milne, Colin Munro, James Neesham, Rob Nicol, Luke Ronchi, Hamish Rutherford, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Daniel Vettori, BJ Watling, Kane Williamson.
Captain Cook set for first World Cup
England cricket officials confirmedAlastair Cook will captain the team at the World Cup, which will also mark the batsman’s first appearance at the one-day championship.
Pace bowlers Stuart Broad and James Anderson, who are recovering from knee injuries, have also been included in the squad.
Jonathan Trott is the notable omission from the group, which will be whittled down to a squad of 16 before Christmas ahead of January’s Carlton Mid ODI Tri-Series against Australia and India.
England: Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jonathan Bairstow, Gary Ballance, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, Jack Brooks, Jos Buttler, Alastair Cook (capt), Steven Finn, Harry Gurney, Alex Hales, Chris Jordan, Craig Kieswetter, Eoin Morgan, Stephen Parry, Samit Patel, Liam Plunkett, Boyd Rankin, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, James Taylor, James Tredwell, James Vince, Chris Woakes, Luke Wright.
Suspended spinner included in provisional Pakistan squad
Saeed Ajmal is in Pakistan's 30-man squad for the World Cup despite currently being suspended by the ICC for an illegal bowling action.
The 37-year-old off-spinner is undergoing remedial work on his bowling action which was deemed illegal in September and chief selector Moin Khan hopes Ajmal will be cleared in time for the tournament.
Misbah-ul-Haq been named captain of the squad.
Pakistan: Mohammad Hafeez, Ahmed Shehzad, Nasir Jamshed, Sharjeel Khan, Sami Aslam, Misbah-ul Haq (capt), Younis Khan, Asad Shafiq, Azhar Ali, Sohaib Maqsood, Fawad Alam, Haris Sohail, Shoaib Malik, Umar Akmal, Mohammad Irfan, Wahab Riaz, Junaid Khan, Umar Gul, Ehsan Adil, Mohammad Talha, Saeed Ajmal, Zulfiqar Babar, Raza Hasan, Yasir Shah, Shahid Afridi, Anwar Ali, Bilawal Bhatti, Sohail Tanvir, Sarfraz Ahmad, Kamran Akmal.
Singh not included in India squad
World Cup 2011 player of the tournament Yuvraj Singh has been left out of the India squad for the team’s title defence.
Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, batsmen Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina and off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin are the only playing returning from the successful 2011 squad.
India: Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Kedar Jadhav, Manoj Tiwary, Manish Pandey, Murali Vijay, MS Dhoni, Wriddhiman Saha, Robin Uthappa, Sanju Samson, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Stuart Binny, Parvez Rasool, Ravi Ashwin, Karn Sharma, Amit Mishra, Kuldeep Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Varun Aaron, Dhawal Kulkarni, Mohit Sharma, Ashok Dinda.
Nine return from 2011 for Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, 2011 World Cup finalists, has named a preliminary 30-member squad captained by Angelo Mathews.
The squad has a blend of youth and experience with nine players returning from the 2011 event including fast bowlers Lasith Malinga and Nuwan Kulasekara.
New faces include Lakshan Sandakan and Tharindu Kaushal who are yet to make their international debuts.
Sri Lanka: Angelo Mathews (captain), TM Dilshan, Lahiru Thirimanna, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Kusal Janith, Upul Tharanga, Dimuth Karunarathna, Dinesh Chandimal, Ashan Priyanjana, Kithuruwan Vithanage, Niroshan Dickwella, Rangana Herath, Dilruwan Perera, Seekkuge Prasanna, Ajantha Mendis, Sachithra Senanayaka, PHD Kaushal, Jeevan Mendis, Ramith Rambukwella, Suranga Lakmal, Nuwan Kulasekara, Lasith Malinga, Dhammika Prasad, Shaminda Eranga, Thisara Perera, F Maharoof, Nuwan Pradeep, Lahiru Gamage, Lakshan Sandakan.
Cricket Scotland names skipper
Preston Mommsen will captain Scotland at the World Cup, with former captain Kyle Coetzer named vice-captain.
Mommsen, 27, played a pivotal role in helping Scotland secure their third appearance at the one-day championship.
Mommsen it was a “huge honour” to be leading Scotland, adding the team’s preparation in recent months had been hugely productive.
Meanwhile, Scotland released its 24-man squad on December 9.
Scotland: Preston Mommsen (captain), Kyle Coetzer (vice-captain), Richard Berrington, Frederick Coleman, Matthew Cross, Joshua Davey, Alasdair Evans, Hamish Gardiner, Gordon Goudie, Majid Haq, Moneeb Iqbal, Michael Leask, Matt Machan, Calum MacLeod, Gavin Main, George Munsey, David Murphy, Safyaan Sharif, Ruaidhri Smith, Robert Taylor, Andrew Umeed, Craig Wallace, Iain Wardlaw, Mark Watt.
Hat-trick hero makes Bangladesh 30
Left-arm spinner Taijul Islam, the first cricketer to claim a hat-trick on his debut in a one-day international, is one of 30 players included in Bangladesh's provisional World Cup squad.
Bangladesh Cricket Board national selection panel chairman Faruque Ahmed said he believed they had picked the 30 strongest players available.
He said they had concentrated on creating back-ups for every position.
Bangladesh: Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmud Ullah, Tamim Iqbal, Marshall Ayub, Anamul Haque Bijoy, Shakib Al Hasan, Nasir Hossain, Mohammad Elias, Ziaur Rahman, Masrafe Bin Mortaza, Liton Kumar Das, Shafiul Islam, Abdur Razzak, Imrul Kayes, Al-Amin Hossain, Mominul Hoque, Shamsur Rahman, Muktar Ali, Rubel Hossain, Shabbir Rahaman, Taskin Ahmed, Abul Hasan Raju, Arafat Sunny, Md Mithun, Soumya Sarkar, Taijul Islam, Shuvagata Hom, Naeem Islam, Jubair Hossain, Mohammed Sahid.
Nabi leds Afghanistan into first World Cup
The Afghanistan Cricket Board has released its 30-man squad for the tournament, led by captain Mohammad Nabi.
It will be the first time the country has been represented in a Cricket World Cup.
Afghanistan: Mohammad Nabi, Nawroz Mangal, Usman Ghani, Javed Ahmadi, Asghar Stanikzai, Samiullah Shinwari, Shafiqullah Shafaq, Mirwais Ashraf, Gulbadin Naib, Hamid Hasan, Shapoor Zadran, Dawlat Zadran, Izatullah Dawlatzai, Aftab Alam, Farid Malik, Najibullah Zadran, Nasir Jamal, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Muhammad Shahzad, Kareem Sadiq, Shabir Noori, Yamin Ahmadzai, Najib Tarakai, Fazal Niazi, Muhammad Mujtaba, Hashmatullah Shaidi, Noor Ali Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Humza Hotak, Afsar Zazai.
Windies name mix of old and new in squad
The West Indies Cricket Board has unveiled a 30-man provisional squad for World Cup featuring Darren Bravo, who withdrew from this month's tour of South Africa due to personal reasons.
The squad also includes six players yet to play at one-day international level including arm seamer Kenroy Peters, off-spinner Ashley Nurse and 19-year-old fast bowler Marquino Mindley.
West Indies: Sulieman Benn, Carlos Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Dwayne Bravo, Jonathan Carter, Sheldon Cottrell, Miguel Cummins, Narsingh Deonarine, Andre Fletcher, Chris Gayle, Jason Holder, Imran Khan, Leon Johnson, Evin Lewis, Nikita Miller, Marquino Mindley, Sunil Narine, Ashley Nurse, Kenroy Peters, Versammy Permaul, Kieron Pollard, Denesh Ramdin, Kemar Roach, Andre Russell, Darren Sammy, Marlon Samuels, Lendl Simmons, Dwayne Smith, Devon Smith, Jerome Taylor.
Newcomers feature in Zimbabwe squad
Zimbabwe's provisional World Cup squad includes six players who made their international debuts this year, including wicketkeeper-batsman Richmond Mutumbami and allrounder Solomon Mire, both 25 years old, and 23-year-olds Neville Madziva and Peter Moore.
Zimbabwe: Elton Chigumbura, Sikandar Raza Butt, Regis Chakabva, Brian Chari, Tendai Chatara, Chamunorwa Chibhabha, Craig Ervine, Luke Jongwe, Tafadzwa Kamungozi, Neville Madziva, Timycen Maruma, Hamilton Masakadza, Shingirai Masakadza, Stuart Matsikenyeri, Tinotenda Mawoyo, Solomon Mire, Peter Moore, Tawanda Mupariwa, Natsai M’shangwe, Cuthbert Musoko, Richmond Mutumbami, John Nyumbu, Tinashe Panyangara, Vusimuzi Sibanda, Brendan Taylor, Prosper Utseya, Brian Vitori, Malcolm Waller, Sean Williams and Cephas Zhuwao.
Stars included in Proteas' squad
Cricket South Africa's provisional squad includes Mthokozisi Shezi, a left-arm medium fast bowler known for his myriad variations, who has been given an opportunity after good form in domestic cricket, while Andrew Puttick, who played one ODI in 2005, is a surprise inclusion.
AB de Villiers will lead the team and fellow stars Hashim Amla, Dale Steyn, Faf du Plessis, JP Duminy and Morne Morkel have also been included.
South Africa: AB de Villiers (captain), Hashim Amla (vice-capt), Kyle Abbott, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock, Marchant de Lange, JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Dean Elgar, Beuran Hendricks, Reeza Hendricks, Imran Tahir, Rory Kleinveldt, Ryan McLaren, David Miller, Morne Morkel, Chris Morris, Justin Ontong, Wayne Parnell, Robin Peterson, Aaron Phangiso, Vernon Philander, Andrew Puttick, Kagiso Rabada, Rilee Rossouw, Mthokozisi Shezi, Dale Steyn, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Morne van Wyk and David Wiese.
Young and old in United Arab Emirates squad
United Arab Emirates, returning the ICC Cricket World Cup for the first time since 1996, has named the oldest and youngest players of the tournament in its 30-player provisional squad.
Khurram Khan at 43 is the oldest player while Yodhin Punja, 15, is the youngest player.
United Arab Emirates (UAE): Ahmed Raza, Ahsan Ali, Amjad Ali, Amjad Javed, Andri Raffaelo, Asadullah Shareef, Chirag Suri, Fahad Alhasimi, Faizan Asif, Fayyaz Ahmed, Irfan Sajid, Kamran Shahzad, Khurram Khan, K. Karate, Manjula Guruge, Mohammad Naveed, Mohammad Shahzad, Mohammad Tauqir, Nasir Aziz, Noor Ul Amin, Rohan Mustafa, Rohit Singh, Salman Farooq, Saqib Ali, Saqlain Haider, Shaiman Anwar, Swapnil Patil, Usman Mushtaq, Umair Ali and Yodhin Punja.