Cricket: Moody call has county in spin

TOM MOODY, the Worcestershire captain, was yesterday celebrating a surprise World Cup call-up that has left his county reshuffling their New Road pack to cover for the Australian all-rounder.

Moody, captain at Worcestershire since 1995, got the call to the 15-man party along with Paul Reiffel and Damien Fleming, as the additional names to the side that beat Sri Lanka and England in the Carlton & United Series this winter.

The 33-year-old was not named in the provisional squad of 19 because he was returning from an injury suffered last September. But his late inclusion - which had to be ratified by the International Cricket Council - has not come as a complete surprise to Worcestershire, who have already asked Steve Rhodes, their wicketkeeper-batsman, to take over the captaincy in Moody's expected absence.

Kent have named Andrew Symonds, the Australian batsman, as their new overseas player for the coming season. The 23-year-old Queenslander scored more than 2,500 runs for Gloucestershire in 1995.

In the Caribbean yesterday, an exceptional spell of seam bowling from Adam Dale gave Australia an emphatic 154-run victory over West Indies A at the Antigua Recreation Ground. The Queensland medium pacer took 6 for 66 as the A team collapsed to 310 all out before lunch on the fourth day.

Dominic Ostler, the Warwickshire batsman, has flown home from his county's pre-season tour of South Africa with a suspected broken ankle.

AUSTRALIA WORLD CUP SQUAD: S Waugh (capt), S Warne, M Bevan, A Dale, D Fleming, A Gilchrist, B Julian, S Lee, D Lehmann, G McGrath, D Martyn, T Moody, R Ponting, P Reiffel, M Waugh.