Teams will be able to take an injured player to the 2003 World Cup - and replace him if he breaks down during the tournament.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced on Monday it had changed the rules to allow each side one player change during the World Cup.

A team may, with the prior written approval of the Event Technical Committee, replace a player with another Mark Harrison International Cricket Council

Each of the 14 participating nations are required to name their final squad of 15 by 31 December, but the World Cup does not begin until mid-February.

The news comes as a major boost for teams such as England, whose unfit all-rounder Andrew Flintoff was considered a World Cup doubt.

"Teams can make one change to their final squads after the December deadline," an ICC spokesman told BBC Sport Online.

"That will allow them to name an injured player if they desire and that player can be replaced during the World Cup.

"The change will be subject to the approval of the Event Technical Committee and the player in question subjected to medical tests to prove he cannot take any further part in the tournament."

Best players

The announcement comes after World Cup organisers urged the ICC for a relaxation of the rules.

'I have spoken with Ali Bacher (head of the organising committee) and his view is that we want the best players possible to play," Rodney Hartman, communications director for the organising committee, said.

"The ICC has the final say but we would like to think that common sense would prevail and all players would be given a chance to play.

It should not be that teams have to sink or swim with their final squad Rodney Hartman WC organising committee

"For example, if Flintoff's specialist says he will be fit by the end of January, then of course he will be selected by England.

"But it should be that they, as with all teams, have the option to substitute him if he doesn't prove his fitness."

Fitness doubts linger over several other leading players, including Australia's Shane Warne, West Indies' Brian Lara, Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan and New Zealand's Chris Cairns.

Hartman said it would be a shame if fans were deprived of the chance to see the game's great practitioners in action.

"The World Cup is all about the best playing against the best and that is what supporters pay money to see."