Former Milwaukee Brewers All-Star catcher David Nilsson headlines the provisional Australian roster for the World Baseball Classic in March

Justin Huber and Glenn Williams, who made their Major League debuts with Kansas City Royals and Minnesota Twins respectively in 2005, and Trent Durrington, who played for the Brewers last year, join Nilsson

The Australian roster also features most of the players who played on the Silver Medal-winning team at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens
They include Chris Oxspring, who pitched in the winning game against Japan in the semi-final, and Brendan Kingman, whose two-out single provided the winning run in the same game

Grant Balfour, who recently signed with Cincinnati Reds, and Chris Snelling, an outfielder with Seattle Mariners, could not be considered because they are still recovering from injury

The final 30-man roster will be selected after the Baseball Challenge against Chinese Taipei and 2005 Japanese Club Champion Chibe Lotte in Perth and Melbourne next month

Australia's first opponent at the Classic will be Italy on March 7
The Aussies also play Dominican Republic and Venezuela in their Group, which is based in Orlando, Florida

Nilsson owned a .284 lifetime hitting average during his eight years with the Brewers in Major League Baseball, and he was named in the National League All-Star game in Boston in 1999

He played an integral role in the Australian team that won the Silver Medal in Athens

"I always believed we could compete at that level" Nilsson said

Nilsson spent last season as catching coach with Arizona Diamondbacks

While commitments in the US forced him to miss both the Claxton Shield in Sydney this week and the Baseball Challenge next month, Nilsson will join the Australian team in Florida in early March

"The World Baseball Classic will be great for baseball around the world" Nilsson said
"For Australia to compete in the first World Baseball Classic will be a great experience for all the players
I think it will become a dominating part of the sports calendar worldwide every four years, much like the soccer World Cup"

The World Baseball Classic will feature many of the best players in the world competing for their home countries and territories for the first time

The 16 teams have been divided into four pools of four teams for the first round
The four pools are based in Tokyo; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Orlando; and Phoenix and Scottsdale, Arizona