ICC World XI team named for warm-up match against Victoria

ICC World XI Team Director Sunil Gavaskar today announced the ICC World XI team for Sunday's warm-up match against Victoria at the Junction Oval, St Kilda.

A 12-man team has been picked to take on Victoria from which a SuperSub will be confirmed before the toss. Andrew Flintoff and Daniel Vettori are the two players who will sit out the match.

Commenting on their omission Mr Gavaskar said: "Andrew has played a lot of cricket lately at a high intensity so it didn't seem necessary to rush him into a game only two days after he has arrived in Melbourne.

"Daniel is unlucky to miss out in this game but after tomorrow there are still two further training sessions before the first ODI at the Telstra Dome on Wednesday."

Mr Gavaskar also confirmed the appointment of a new vice-captain after the withdrawal of Sachin Tendulkar.

"We are very pleased to have nominated Brian Lara as our vice-captain. He has tremendous experience and will be able to provide invaluable support to our captain Shaun Pollock."

Brian Lara said he was delighted to have been handed the responsibility.

"I am honoured to have been asked to take on the role of vice-captain. I look forward to helping Shaun over the coming days as we look to gel together as a unit in time for the first match against Australia on Wednesday," said Lara.

During the event, team selection is determined by the Team Director, coach and captain. Mr Gavaskar was also Chairman of the six-man selection panel for the ICC World XI.

The Johnnie Walker Super Series comprises three one-day internationals at Telstra Dome in Melbourne on 5, 7 and 9 October followed by a six-day Test match at the Sydney Cricket Ground from 14 to 19 October.

Admission to the match at the Junction Oval on Sunday is free. The scheduled start time is 10.15.

The ICC World XI ODI team for the match is as follows:

From - Shaun Pollock (capt), Brian Lara (vice-capt), Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Akhtar, Rahul Dravid, Chris Gayle, Jacques Kallis, Muttiah Muralitharan, Makhaya Ntini, Kevin Pietersen, Kumar Sangakkara and Virender Sehwag.