Battered idea gets set for the ultimate Test

World XI captain Graeme Smith followed Speed’s lead by urging his players to take greater responsibility for their own performances to compensate for their lack of cohesion as team.

West Indies batsman Brian Lara scored just five runs in the three one-day matches while ICC cricketers of the year Jacques Kallis and Andrew Flintoff also failed to show their best form. Smith, the South African skipper, conceded it was difficult to mould a single unit at such notice and said it was up to the players to motivate themselves.

‘‘I’m looking for them to take greater responsibility for themselves going into this Test match, respect for each other, respect for yourself and show a little bit heart’’, Smith said.

‘‘I want to see the right intensity, the right heart, the right level…if I feel they are giving 100 percent then that for me is individual enough.’’

Smith said the world players had let themselves down with their performances in the one-day series but added he was confident they would be better suited to playing a Test.

‘‘If the 11 individuals reach the standards that they’ve achieved through their careers then I really believe we can go a long way towards winning this Test match’’, he said.

‘‘I know they’ve got the skills, they showed to the world that they’ve got the skills, so I get them to give their heart and mind in the right place. Hopefully, this performance can save a little face for the world team and go from strength to strength.’’

Although Australia’s performances in the one-dayers helped ease the pressure on them after their failed Ashes campaign captain Ricky Ponting was still preaching caution.

‘‘Our one-day form was good in England too, it’s the Test matches where we struggled’’, he said. ‘‘“They (the World XI) would have to start favourites in this game for the absolute quality of the players they have got all down their list.’’

TEAM NEWS

AUSTRALIA

All-rounder Shane Watson and legspinner Stuart MacGill made the final XI. Watson replaced Damien Martyn, who was dropped after the Ashes series loss, while MacGill took the spot of injured fast bowler Shaun Tait.

Middle-order batsman Brad Hodge was named 12th man.

Team: Ricky Ponting (captain), Justin Langer, Matthew Hayden, Michael Clarke, Simon Katich, Adam Gilchrist, Shane Watson, Shane Warne, Brett Lee, Glenn McGrath, Stuart MacGill, Brad Hodge (12th man)

REST OF THE WORLD

The RoW XI delayed the naming of their team until Friday morning but fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar was omitted from the initial 13-man squad.

Shoaib performed below his best in last week’s one-day series in Melbourne, conceding 110 runs without taking a wicket from 17 overs in the first two matches of the series. He did not play in the third game. It increases the chance of both Daniel Vettori and Murali playing making the cut.

Team (from): Graeme Smith (South Africa, captain), Virender Sehwag (India), Rahul Dravid (India), Inzamam-ul-Haq (Pakistan), Brian Lara (West Indies), Jacques Kallis (South Africa), Andrew Flintoff (England), Mark Boucher (South Africa), Shaun Pollock (South Africa), Daniel Vettori (New Zealand), Steve Harmison (England), Muttiah Muralitharan (Sri Lanka).

Umpires: Simon Taufel (Australia) and Rudi Koertzen (South Africa).