Matthew Hayden appears set to fill the shoes of Mark Taylor as Australian opening batsman following his recall to the national team today. Hayden is one of fifteen players named by Australian selectors for the Test match tours of Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe in September and October.

In a surprise, selectors dropped three members of the victorious World Cup squad for the fourteen-man squad chosen for the one-day leg of the tours, which begins with a tri-series against Sri Lanka and India in late August.

Matthew Hayden replaces Matthew Elliott who was recalled to the Australian team after Taylor's retirement for the tour of the West Indies. Elliott was dropped for the final Test of that series after performing poorly, and was last week axed from the ACB's list of elite players on full-time contracts.

With Andy Bichel and Adam Dale are discarded from the bowling attack with Jason Gillespie back in the squad after injury. Left-handed batsman Simon Katich is the fifteenth man in the Test squad, added following captain Steve Waugh's request to the ACB to add a player specifically for the purpose of giving touring experience.

As expected, Shane Warne retains his place in the squad and will be battling Stuart MacGill and Colin Miller for the spinner's position or positions in the side.

The squad for the three Tests against Sri Lanka and one Test against Zimbabwe is: Steve Waugh (capt), Michael Slater, Greg Blewett, Justin Langer, Mark Waugh, Ricky Ponting, Matthew Hayden, Ian Healy, Shane Warne (vc), Stuart MacGill, Glenn McGrath, Damien Fleming, Jason Gillespie, Colin Miller, Simon Katich.

With the one-day squad being reduced from 15 to 14 for this tour, three players have been axed from Australia's victorious World Cup campaign, namely Brendon Julian, Shane Lee and Adam Dale. All three players were dropped from the Australian eleven mid-way through the World Cup, the twelve-man core from the victorious final stages remaining intact. Queensland and Kent all-rounder Andrew Symonds joins Jason Gillespie as the two players added to the squad which will play four one-day games against Sri Lanka and India in late August plus a final if they qualify, together with three ODI's in Zimbabwe in October.

The one-day squad is: Steve Waugh (capt), Shane Warne (vc), Mark Waugh, Adam Gilchrist, Ricky Ponting, Darren Lehmann, Michael Bevan, Tom Moody, Damien Fleming, Glenn McGrath, Jason Gillespie, Damien Martyn, Andrew Symonds, Paul Reiffel.

Geoff Marsh will coach both squads after being reappointed by the Australian Cricket Board yesterday until the end of the 2001 Ashes tour of England. Other members of the touring party are Steve Bernard (team manager), Errol Alcott (physiptherapist), David Misson (fitness advisor) and Mike Walsh (cricket analyst).

All players are required to attend a three-day camp in Brisbane from August 13. The ODI squad will leave for Sri Lanka on the 16th, playing their first match on August 22. The Test squad will fly over to Colombo in late August.

English counties who will lose players before the end of the season to join the Australian team are: Derbyshire (Michael Slater), Kent (Andrew Symonds), Middlesex (Justin Langer), Northamptonshire (Matthew Hayden), Worcestershire (Tom Moody), Yorkshire (Greg Blewett).

Foxtel have secured the naming rights sponsorship of the touring Australian team and their sports network Fox Sports Australia will be televising the Tests and one-day internationals from Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe into Australia.