As expected there is no place for injury doubt Darren Gough, and England have moved to bolster the squad with several fast bowlers.

Along with uncapped 30-year-old Saggers, there are notable call-ups for ECB Academy member James Anderson and Yorkshire's Ryan Sidebottom.

Anderson's fellow Academians Kyle Hogg, Kabir Ali and Ian Blackwell are also awarded berths.

Surrey captain Adam Hollioake has been included.

But Ashes squad member James Foster has been overlooked, with Nottinghamshire wicket-keeper Chris Read named as cover for Alec Stewart.

A final England squad of 15 players will be announced by Tuesday 31 December.

Provisional England squad for 2003 World Cup:

Batsmen:
Nasser Hussain (Captain, Essex), Marcus Trescothick (Somerset), Nick Knight (Warwickshire), Michael Vaughan (Yorkshire), Owais Shah (Middlesex), Robert Key (Kent), Darren Stevens (Leicestershire), Vikram Solanki (Worcestershire), Matthew Maynard (Glamorgan), Ian Blackwell (Somerset), Anthony McGrath (Yorkshire).

Bowlers:
Andrew Caddick (Somerset), Matthew Hoggard (Yorkshire), James Kirtley (Sussex), Richard Dawson (Yorkshire), Martin Saggers (Kent), Kyle Hogg (Lancashire), Kabir Ali (Worcestershire), Stephen Harmison (Durham), Ryan Sidebottom (Yorkshire), James Anderson (Lancashire), Jeremy Snape (Leicestershire), Ashley Giles (Warwickshire).

All-rounders:
Ronnie Irani (Essex), Paul Collingwood (Durham), Andrew Flintoff (Lancashire), Craig White (Yorkshire), Adam Hollioake (Surrey).

Wicket-keepers:
Alec Stewart (Surrey), Chris Read (Nottinghamshire).