SYDNEY (AFP)
Mark Waugh followed his twin brother Steve out of the Australian one-day cricket team on Monday, when selectors named their squad to tour South Africa.

Steve was dropped as the one-day captain last month, although he stays as Test captain. It is the first time in 16 years that an Australian one-day squad has been named without at least one Waugh. But Shane Warne, another veteran under scrutiny, kept his place.

Two 20-year-old rookies - Queensland spinner Nathan Hauritz and Tasmania's Shane Watson - were called up, and Queensland batsmen Matthew Hayden and Jimmy Maher recalled to the 15-man squad.

"We think we have chosen a squad that has a good mix of youth and experience, and giving the side a chance to play together in South Africa and Zimbabwe will prepare it well for next year's World Cup," said Trevor Hohns, Australia's chairman of selectors. The next World Cup is being staged in South Africa in 2003.

New captain Ricky Ponting and vice-captain Adam Gilchrist lead a touring side that will play seven limited-overs internationals against South Africa and three more against Zimbabwe from later this month through to April.

Ironically, Mark Waugh's form has improved recently and on Saturday he scored his 79th first-class century when he chalked up 110 for Australia against South Africa A at Port Elizabeth.

Watson, another centurymaker against South Africa A, is an explosive allrounder for Tasmania, while offspinner Hauritz was one of Australia's most accomplished junior players in the lead-up to his domestic debut last season.

In domestic limited-overs cricket, Hauritz took 17 wickets at 19.76 during this season's ING Cup to finish fourth on the wicket-takers' list. Hohns explained: "Nathan is an exciting young player who has impressed for some time.

"He has bowled with maturity for Queensland, and deserves his chance to play at this level. He will offer some added variety in the area of spin bowling, providing us with another genuine option as we look towards the World Cup."

Opener Hayden returns after being dumped midway through the recent triangular series against South Africa and New Zealand, when Australia failed to reach the final. Maher, 28, is back in the one-day squad for the first time since 1997-98 after dominating this season's domestic competitions. He is the leading runscorer in the Pura Cup, with 1071 runs from nine first-class matches, and also impressed in the one-day ING Cup.

Hohns paid tribute to Mark Waugh, but said it was time for a change. "Mark has been an outstanding player for Australia at one-day level, one of our finest, which made the decision to leave him out of this squad a difficult one. However, given the enviable depth of talented cricketers around the country, we feel that the time is now right to introduce the next generation of players into the side."

Mark Waugh, 36, is the fourth-highest scorer in one-day internationals with 8500 runs at 39.35 in 242 matches, including 18 centuries. The Waughs, Justin Langer and Stuart MacGill are the members of the current touring Test party who will return to Australia at the end of the three-match series.

Australian one-day squad
Adam Gilchrist (wk), Matthew Hayden, Jimmy Maher, Ricky Ponting (capt), Damien Martyn, Darren Lehmann, Michael Bevan, Shane Watson, Ian Harvey, Shane Warne, Brett Lee, Andy Bichel, Jason Gillespie, Glenn McGrath, Nathan Hauritz.

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