Rookie squad named for Great Britain's Davis Cup opener

THE absence of Australian Open runner-up Andy Murray has left the Great Britain Davis Cup squad looking distinctly thin ahead of their opening match of the season in March.

AWAY DAY: John Lloyd's Great Britain squad will face minnows Lithuania in the Davis Cup in March without a live rubber win between them (Getty Images)

The British will play minnows Lithuania in the Europe/Africa Zone Group II, having been relegated to the third tier of world tennis after defeat to Poland in September.

But without Murray, the squad of Jamie Baker, Dan Evans, Ross Hutchins, Colin Fleming, Ken Skupski and James Ward will take on Lithuania without a single live Davis Cup win to their name - although world number 288 Baker did beat Argentina's Agustin Calleri in a dead rubber two season's ago.

While Murray is sitting out the tie through choice, team captain John Lloyd opted to once again leave out British number two Alex Bodganovic, who was also shunned for both matches last season.

And Lloyd admitted the tie was the perfect chance to blood the next generation of British players into the Davis Cup set-up.

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

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

While the highest ranked British singles player is world number 187 James Ward, Lloyd has three top-100 doubles players at his disposal in Vilnius.

Skupski and Fleming, who won their first main draw grand slam victory at the Australian Open in January, are ranked 53 and 57 respectively, while Ross Hutchins was a runner-up at the Medibank International in Sydney last month and is ranked 54 in the world.

The starting quartet will be announced on the February 23 ahead of the tie in Vilnius between March 5 and 7.