Who's who in Kenya

Sport Online's guide to the squads taking part in the ICC Knockout Trophy (Tournament begins on 3 October):

Australia

Bangladesh

England

India

Kenya

New Zealand

Pakistan

South Africa

Sri Lanka

West Indies

Zimbabwe

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Steve Waugh

AUSTRALIA

Steve Waugh (capt), Adam Gilchrist, Michael Bevan, Jason Gillespie, Ian Harvey, Mark Higgs, Brett Lee, Shane Lee, Damien Martyn, Glenn McGrath, Ricky Ponting, Andrew Symonds, Mark Waugh, Brad Young.

Form guide: The World Cup holders and also acknowledged as the best at Test cricket as well. They drew 1-1 with South Africa in an indoor one-day series in Melbourne earlier this year after the first match was tied.

Australia are among the favourites for the trophy but their squad has been weakened by the withdrawal of Shane Warne and Colin Miller. Inexperienced replacements Mark Higgs and Brad Young face a big task as the front-line spinners.

Key player - Michael Bevan: Unable to hold down a regular place in the Test side, but has scored almost 4,000 runs in one-day games at an astonishing average of 56.70.

Bevan's ability to score at a run a ball without recourse to lofting the ball in the air has, on occasions, proved the difference between winning and losing and he has five one-day hundreds and 32 half centuries to his credit.

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Naimur Rahman

BANGLADESH

Naimur Rahman (capt), Khaled Mashud, Javed Omar, Javed Omar, Ehsanul Haq, Habibul Bashar, Akran Khan, Aminul Islam, Al-Shahriar, Enamul Haq, Hasibul Hossain, Monjurul Islam, Mohammad Rafique, Mushfiqur Rahman, Bikash Ranjan Das.

Form guide: Bangladesh have won only three of their 40 one-day internationals and face a difficult task in their first match against a confident England side, which won a triangular series against West Indies and Zimbabwe during the summer.

The loss of injured Mehrab Hossain and Shahriar Hossain leaves them short of batting in their first international event since being granted full Test status.

Key player - Habibul Bashar: Has yet to do himself full justice in one-day internationals despite two half centuries, one of them against India at the Asia Cup earlier this year.

Made an excellent 143 not out on a turning wicket at Chittagong during the England A team's 1999 tour and followed that with 83 off 107 balls in a day-night match at Dhaka.

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Nasser Hussain

ENGLAND

Nasser Hussain (capt), Mark Alleyne, Andrew Caddick, Mark Ealham, Andrew Flintoff, Paul Grayson*, Darren Gough, Matthew Hoggard, Graeme Hick, Vikram Solanki, Alec Stewart, Marcus Trescothick, Graham Thorpe, Craig White. (*Grayson replaced injured Ashley Giles)

Form guide: Things are looking up for England after winning home Test series against Zimbabwe and West Indies and a one-day competition involving all three teams.

The batting has plenty of depth and Gough and Caddick are a formidable new ball pair, but England will miss left-arm seamer Alan Mullally, who was ruled out with a rib injury.

Key player - Alec Stewart: Still at his peak at the age of 37, Stewart has regained his place after missing the one-day internationals on last winter's tour to South Africa and Zimbabwe.

Struck up a destructive opening partnership with Marcus Trescothick during the summer, scoring centuries in successive games and winning the Man of the Match award for his 97 in the NatWest Series final against Zimbabwe at Lord's.

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Saurav Ganguly

INDIA

Saurav Ganguly (captain), Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Vinod Kambli, Hemang Badani, Sridharan Sriram, Yuvraj Singh, Vijay Dahiya, Robin Singh, Sunil Joshi, Anil Kumble, Ajit Agarkar, Venkatesh Prasad, Zakir Khan.

Form guide: India's preparations were disrupted by the resignation of coach Kapil Dev, with Anshuman Gaekwad stepping in to take charge of their training camp.

Mohammed Azharuddin and Ajay Jadeja have been left at home, so the onus is on the likes of Ganguly, Tendulkar and Dravid to put plenty of runs on the board. India have not played since the Asia Cup in June when they lost two of their three games and failed to make the final.

Key player - Sachin Tendulkar: Arguably the best batsman in world cricket, Tendulkar is now free of the cares of captaincy and looking to add to his 25 one-day centuries.

Has scored more than 15,000 runs in Tests and limited overs internationals since making his debut at the age of 16, but he is still only 27 and likely to remain their star performer for many years to come.

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Maurice Odumbe

KENYA

Maurice Odumbe (capt), Steve Tikolo, Kennedy Otieno, Ravindu Shah, Thomas Odoyo, Hitesh Modi, Tony Suji, Martin Suji, Mohammad Sheikh, Collins Otieno, Lameck Onyango, Peter Ochieng, Josephat Ababu, James Kamande.

Form guide: Kenya failed to win a match during last year's World Cup in England but will be pulling out all the stop for their first major tournament on home soil.

There is plenty of experience in the team, which retained the Africa Cup earlier this month, but they will be underdogs for the opening match against India. They can. however, take heart from a win over the same opponents at Gwalior two years ago.

Key player - Steve Tikolo: A powerful striker of the ball with a wide range of shots, Tikolo extended his cricket education by playing first-class cricket in South Africa for Border in 1995-96.

Scored a brilliant 147 against Bangladesh in the 1997 ICC Trophy final and fell just four runs short of a century against Sri Lanka during last year's World Cup. Also makes a useful contribution with his medium pace bowling.

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Stephen Fleming

NEW ZEALAND

Stephen Fleming (captain), Chris Cairns, Craig Spearman, Chris Nevin, Nathan Astle, Roger Twose, Craig McMillan, Adam Parore, Chris Harris, Scott Styris, Glen Sulzberger, Paul Wiseman, Geoff Allott, Shayne O'Connor.

Form guide: New Zealand will not lack for match practice, as they will travel to Kenya after completing a tour of Zimbabwe, where they won both Tests by decisive margins.

The selectors have, however, picked a specialist one-day squad possessing both flair and tactical knowhow and buoyed by last winter's 5-0 home whitewash over the West Indies. They will, however, miss spinner Daniel Vettori, who has flown home with a back problem.

Key player - Nathan Astle: Bats in the middle order in Tests, but asked to provide the early impetus in one-day matches. Has done so successfully with eight hundreds and 23 fifties so far.

Astle scored almost 800 runs in 16 limited overs internationals last winter at an average of 56.85 and is equally severe on anything over-pitched or dropped too short. He is also capable of slowing the opposition's run rate with his accurate medium pace.

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Moin Khan

PAKISTAN

Moin Khan (capt), Inzamam-ul-Haq, Saeed Anwar, Imran Nazir, Saleem Elahi, Yousuf Youhana, Ijaz Ahmed, Faisal Iqbal, Waqar Younis, Wasim Akram, Azhar Mahmood, Abdur Razzaq, Saqlain Mushtaq, Arshad Khan.

Form guide: Reached the 1999 World Cup final and maintained their form by winning the Sharjah and Asia Cups plus a one-day series in the West Indies earlier this year.

Their squad is strong in all departments but their winning streak came to an end in Sri Lanka in July, however, when they failed to reach the final of a triangular tournament, also involving South Africa.

Key player - Inzamam-ul-Haq: A heavyweight hitter with the eye and timing to dominate any attack when the mood takes him, he comes into the tournament with almost 7,500 one-day runs behind him.

Made his seventh one-day century in Sharjah earlier this year, but he is not the fleetest of foot in the field and his running between the wickets has sometimes proved unreliable.

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Shaun Pollock

SOUTH AFRICA

Shaun Pollock (capt), Shafiek Abrahams, Nicky Boje, Mark Boucher, Boeta Dippenaar, Allan Donald, Andrew Hall, Jacques Kallis, Gary Kirsten, Lance Klusener, Neil McKenzie, Makhaya Ntini, Jonty Rhodes, Roger Telemachus.

Form guide: South Africa have put the Hansie Cronje scandal behind them and remain a compeitive side in all forms of the game under new captain Shaun Pollock.

Their batting line-up has an experimental look with Dippenaar, McKenzie and Hall still establishing themselves at international level, but they are strong in bowling and fielding and in Lance Klusener have a batsman capable of winning a match single-handedly.

Key player - Allan Donald: Returns to the international scene after missing trips to Sri Lanka and Australia to concentrate on his final season of county cricket with Warwickshire.

Has taken more than 200 one-day wickets, even though he prefers not to operate with the new ball nowadays, and has set himself the target of playing on until the 2003 World Cup, which South Africa will host.

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Sanath Jayasuriya

SRI LANKA

Sanath Jayasuriya (capt), Marvan Atapattu, Avishka Gunawardene, Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara, Romesh Kaluwitharana, Chaminda Vaas, Nuwan Zoysa, Pramodya Wickremasinghe, Eric Upashanta, Mutthiah Muralitharan, Upul Chandana, Kumar Dhamasena.

Form guide: Unpredictable, but almost always exciting to watch, Sri Lanka rediscovered their one-day form with a 30-run win over South Africa in the final of the Singer Cup in Colombo in July.

They were popular winners of the World Cup in 1996 and their batsmen are capable of taking any attack apart on their day. Mutthiah Muralitharan apart, their bowling often lacks penetration, although seam bowler Nuwan Zoysa offers hope for the future.

Key player - Mutthiah Muralitharan: One of Wisden's five cricketers of the year in 1999, he is acknowleged as a truly great spin bowler and a threat on any surface.

Muralitharan has overcome a 'throwing' controversy to take 291 wickets in Tests and is closing in on the 200 mark in limited overs internationals. He is also an excellent fielder, but averages only 5.02 with the bat after more than 140 one-day appearances.

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Jimmy Adams

WEST INDIES

Jimmy Adams (capt), Courtney Browne, Sherwin Campbell, Mervyn Dillon, Azeemul Haniff, Wavell Hinds, Brian Lara, Kerry Jeremy, Sylvester Joseph, Marlon Jacobs, Nixon McLean, Mahendra Nagamootoo, Colin Stuart, Laurie Williams.

Form guide: The selectors have sent an experimental line-up to Africa, featuring four players making their first overseas trip at senior level in Haniff, Jeremy, Jacobs and Stuart.

Brian Lara showed his talent remains undimmed during their tour to England, but the onus is on Nixon McLean and Mervyn Dillon to improve their strike-rate with the ball.

Key player - Brian Lara: Lara gave up the captaincy following last winter's failure in New Zealand, but still bears a heavy responsibility in an inconsistent batting line-up.

Passed fifty three times during the triangular series in England earlier this year, but was unable to add to his 13 one-day centuries, which include a magnificent 169 against Sri Lanka at Sharjah in 1995.

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Heath Streak

ZIMBABWE

Heath Streak (capt), Alistair Campbell, Stuart Carlisle, Andy Flower, Grant Flower, Pommie Mbangwa, Henry Olonga, Gavin Rennie, Paul Strang, Mark Vermeulen, Dirk Viljoen, Guy Whittall, Craig Wishart.

Form guide: Zimbabwe gave a good account of themselves during the one-day series in England earlier this year, but the retirement from international cricket of Neil Johnson and Murray Goodwin has left their batting short of quality.

They remain a highly competitive unit in the field, however, and the return to full fitness of leg-spinner Paul Strang has given their bowling attack a welcome dash of variety.

Key player - Alistair Campbell: Zimbabwe have proved themselves a highly effective one-day unit, but need runs from their main batsmen to compensate for the loss of Johnson and Goodwin.

Campbell is a rarity in that he has scored three one-day hundreds, but never reached three figures in a Test match. His aggressive style makes him hard to contain and he is also a brilliant fielder.