Husseys included in Australia World Cup squad

Wednesday, 19 January 2011 00:01 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

* Australia to use same squad in England series

* Hauritz to lead spin attack in sub-continent

SYDNEY, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Mike Hussey was included in the final 15-man Australia squad for the World Cup announced on Tuesday despite a hamstring injury, while his brother David has earned a first call-up for cricket’s showpiece event.

Australia, who have won four of the nine World Cups, including the last three, will use the same squad for the remaining six matches of the ongoing one-day series against England.

“(We have) selected a squad we believe is capable of winning a fourth successive World Cup in sub-continental conditions,” chief selector Andrew Hilditch said in a news release.

“It includes the experience of Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke and Brett Lee, and also some young talent like Steve Smith.

“Shaun Tait, Shane Watson, Mike Hussey, Mitchell Johnson and Brad Haddin were all also part of the victorious 2007 squad that went unbeaten in the Caribbean, so there is plenty of character in this group of Australian cricketers.” Mike Hussey, Australia’s best batsman in an otherwise disappointing Ashes series, injured a hamstring in the first one-day international against England on Sunday.

Squad: Ricky Ponting (captain), Michael Clarke, Doug Bollinger, Brad Haddin, John Hastings, Nathan Hauritz, David Hussey, Mike Hussey, Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee, Tim Paine, Steve Smith, Shaun Tait, Shane Watson, Cameron White.

Yousuf omitted from Pakistan’s World Cup squad

KARACHI, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Former captain Mohammad Yousuf will not feature in the World Cup after Pakistan selectors left the batsman out of their 15-man squad announced on Tuesday.

“It is very disappointing to not be picked for such a big event especially since I am fit and playing in domestic cricket,” Yousuf told Reuters.

Pakistan are in Group A with Australia, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, Kenya and Canada. They will play their group matches in Sri Lanka.

The 1992 World Cup champions were eliminated in the early rounds of the last two tournaments in South Africa and West Indies.

Their 2007 World Cup campaign ended in tragedy as their coach Bob Woolmer was found dead in his hotel room a day after the team were knocked out of the tournament by minnows Ireland.

Jamaican police initially opened a murder investigation into Woolmer’s death but a jury recorded an open verdict on the Englishman’s death after deciding that there was insufficient evidence of either a criminal act or natural causes.

Pakistan squad: Mohammad Hafeez, Ahmed Shehzad, Younus Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq, Umar Akmal, Asad Shafiq, Kamran Akmal, Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq, Abdul Rehman, Saeed Ajmal, Shoaib Akhtar, Umar Gul, Wahab Riaz, Sohail Tanvir.