Atherton is now employed as a cricket writer and broadcaster

The panel also includes chairman Sunil Gavaskar, Sir Richard Hadlee, Aravinda de Silva, Clive Lloyd and Jonty Rhodes.

The inaugural Super Series will feature three one-day games and a six-day Test.

"It's going to be a fascinating task to select an international side capable of succeeding where so many national teams have failed," said Atherton.

"Australia have not lost a home Test series since 1993 or an ODI series since 2002, so to take them on in their own back yard is the ultimate challenge in cricket."

New Zealand could still oust Australia from the top of the ICC one-day rankings, but to do so they would have to win every game when the two sides meet in February and March.

The selectors, who have a combined total of 581 Test and 917 one-day caps, were described as "cricket legends" by ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed.

They will choose initial squads of 30 for the World Test and one-day teams by mid-April and then whittle the lists down to 20 in June.

The final squads will be announced in August.

"They will have to make some tough decisions," said Speed.

Tendulkar and Lara could team up for the World XI

"It would be fascinating to be a fly on the wall as they discuss whether to open with Sehwag and Strauss or Gibbs and Jayasuriya; whether there is space in the middle order for Lara, Dravid, Tendulkar, Laxman, Kallis and Flintoff; whether Kumble can be accommodated with Muralitharan; and whether to hand the new ball to Vaas, Akhtar, Harmison, Ntini, Hoggard or Pathan."

The Super Series will offer match fees and prize money totalling �1.4m.

Tickets for the three one-day games at Melbourne's Telstra Dome on 5, 7 and 9 October, and the Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground from 14-19 October, will go on sale on Thursday.

Prices for adults start from �19 and there will also be a special ticket for a family of four, costing �47.

"This will be the most prestigious international cricket event to be held in Australia since the ICC Cricket World Cup in 1992," said Speed.

"Yet tickets will be available for less than half the price of the recent Australian Open [tennis] final and a quarter the price of the Rugby World Cup final."

Australia have played a World XI before in 1971-72 when when Garfield Sobers led a side including Lloyd, Bishan Bedi, Zaheer Abbas, Intikhab Alam, Tony Greig and Rohan Kanhai.

There were also 16 Super Tests involving Australia, West Indies and a Rest of the World side as part of Kerry Packer's World Series from 1977-79.