With a year to go before the World Cup, this is the time to do it

Australian broadcaster Jim Maxwell

Mark Waugh could be for the chop

And Shane Warne - the media favourite for the job - won 10 of 11 matches as captainn when Waugh was unavailable for the 1998/99 triangular series against England and Sri Lanka.

Off-field issues may not have counted in Warne's favour, but is more likely to have been his six wickets in the one-day game this season, at an average of 54.00, that saw him discounted.

If the selectors feel that the time is right to oust Steve Waugh in favour of a younger model then several other older players could also find their names missed off the squad list for the seven one-dayers in South Africa.

Warne is just one veteran who faces an uncertain wait to see if he is in the selectors' plans for the World Cup in 12 months' time.

And Mark Waugh's 126 runs in seven VB Series matches could see him pensioned off too after two years of continual media speculation.

Gilchrist had offered to drop down the batting order should he be named skipper, in order to avoid the triple burden of captaincy, wicket-keeping and opening.

And the selectors' decision to pass him over may indicate a desire to retain the big-hitting Western Australian as an experienced head to open the batting, with his erstwhile partner out of the picture.

Ageing replacements

The question is, who will come in to replace these ageing stars? And, despite impressive depth in the first class game, the options appear limited.

Australia has been a victim of its own success, the current side remaining cemented in place for so long that those originally groomed to replace them are themselves approaching veteran status.

A quick look at the Australia A line-up confirms that: 31-year-old Greg Blewett, Mike Hussey (27) and Jimmy Maher, who turns 28 in a fortnight, have little to recommend them in place of the vastly experienced Waugh twins with a World Cup just around the corner.

Rofe is one youngster who could come in

Simon Katich, himself approaching 27, is one of few obvious candidates for elevation to the batting corps.

Twenty-year-old Shane Watson's call-up to the Test squad showed that the search is on for a new generation of talent, and if the current class are to be dismissed, that generation will have to be in place in time for the World Cup.

Broadcaster Jim Maxwell is confident that names unknown to anyone outside of Australia will be among the one-day side when it is announced.

He names 21-year-old South Australian pace bowler Paul Rofe, identified by coach Greg Chappell as a future Test prospect, as a possibility.

And Queensland off-spinner Nathan Hauritz could be the man to take Warne's mantle.

"The see-change we were waiting for has arrived," Maxwell says.

"It's a gamble to toy with the team at any time but, just as in business, you have to think ahead to make changes."

"It may be unsettling for the Test series but, with a year to go before the World Cup, this is the time to do it."

Ponting's appointment may have been a bold move by the selectors but it could pale in comparison to the tough choices ahead.