Cricket: Aussie selectors left with little choice

SYDNEY - With the taste of Ashes defeat still in their mouths, Australia's selectors today name their test and one-day teams to play the World XI in next month's Super Series.

Australia will play three one-day internationals at Melbourne's Telstra Dome on October 5, 7 and 9, followed by a six-day test at the Sydney Cricket Ground on October 14-19.

What Australian officials had hoped would be a celebration of their team's dominance of world cricket has taken on a different flavour since England posted a 2-1 victory in the Ashes series - their first since 1986-87.

Cricket Australia has not yet completed its post-Ashes review, so wholesale changes to the team are unlikely.

A 14-man squad will be named for the one-day series and a 13-man squad for the test.

Former Australian captain Kim Hughes believes the selectors have no real option but to stick with the teams who played in England.

"I'd have thought there would be little scope for them to do much, apart from maybe bringing in Stuart MacGill [for the test squad]," Hughes said.

MacGill toured England without playing in a test, but would be favoured to partner fellow leg-spinner Shane Warne on his home track at the SCG, as he did against Pakistan in January.

MacGill took seven wickets to Warne's five and was named man of the match, but has not played a test since.

World XI test squad

Shoaib Akhtar (Pak), Mark Boucher (SA), Rahul Dravid (Ind), Andrew Flintoff (Eng), Steve Harmison (Eng), Brian Lara (WI), Jacques Kallis (SA), Muttiah Muralitharan (SL), Shaun Pollock (SA), Virender Sehwag (Ind) Graeme Smith (SA, capt), Sachin Tendulkar (Ind), Daniel Vettori (NZ).

World XI one-day squad

Shahid Afridi (Pak), Shoaib Akhtar (Pak), Herschelle Gibbs (SA), Andrew Flintoff (Eng), Jacques Kallis (SA), Brian Lara (WI), Muttiah Muralitharan (SL), Makhaya Ntini (SA), Kevin Pietersen (Eng), Shaun Pollock (SA, captain), Kumar Sangakkara (SL), Virender Sehwag (Ind), Sachin Tendulkar (Ind), Daniel Vettori (NZ).

- AAP