Great Britain reveal six-man Davis Cup squad

James Ward
James Ward has yet to play in the Davis Cup

James Ward, Dan Evans and Jamie Baker will compete for the two singles spots for Great Britain's Davis Cup match in Lithuania in Vilnius on 5-7 March.

Australian Open finalist and world number three Andy Murray withdrew from the team last month, handing the trio an opportunity to shine.

However, world number 169 Alex Bogdanovic has not been included.

Doubles specialists Colin Fleming and Ken Skupski are included in the six-strong squad, along with Ross Hutchins.

Great Britain have not won a Davis Cup match since their World Group play-off against Croatia in 2007.

And since then, four successive defeats have seen John Lloyd's team drop into Europe/Africa Zone Group II, the third tier of the competition.

606: DEBATE

World number 288 Baker is the only player in the singles trio to have won a Davis Cup match, defeating Agustin Calleri in a dead rubber against Argentina in 2008.

Evans, ranked 258 in the world, lost both his singles encounters against Poland last year, while Ward, six places above his compatriot in the standings, has yet to make his debut.

"This is a real opportunity for some of our younger players to gain valuable Davis Cup experience," said captain Lloyd.

"I'm confident that they all have the ability to perform at this level and a passion to represent their country."

Lloyd will reveal his final quartet on 23 February for the match which takes place at the Vitas Gerulaitis Memorial Tennis Centre in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius.

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