October 02 Wednesday 2002
'Jury out on axing of Waugh twins' 

SYDNEY: Australia missed Steve and Mark Waugh in their seven-wicket Champions Trophy semifinal defeat by Sri Lanka in Colombo on Friday, The Daily Telegraph newspaper said on Monday. 

It was a situation where the 37-year-old twins, who have been axed from the one-day side, would have flourished, the Sydney newspaper said. Steve remains Test captain and Mark is also in the team for the three-Test series against Pakistan which starts in Colombo on Thursday. 

As the twins cling to their hopes of returning to the one-day side for Australia's World Cup defence in South Africa early next year, The Daily Telegraph says the Waughs should remain in contention. 

Australia failed to reach the finals of the 2001-02 one-day series at home against South Africa and New Zealand and promptly named Ponting as the new captain of the limited-overs team and sent him to lead the side in South Africa without the Waughs. 

Ponting's side won the series against South Africa 5-1 before losing at home to Pakistan 2-1. 

Steve Waugh was quoted in Melbourne's Herald Sun newspaper on Monday as saying: "There's a realistic chance that I will play in the World Cup."