Taipei - Taiwan, aiming at advancing to the top eight in the 2009 World Baseball Classic, on Monday announced the preliminary selection of players for the tournament.

The Chinese-Taipei Professional Baseball League announced the names of 48 players, including 11 who are playing for US teams and six playing for Japanese teams.

Wang Chien-ming, the Taiwan pitcher serving the New York Yankees, cannot play for Taiwan in the 2009 World Baseball Classic because Yankees refused to let him take leave.

The 48 players will train in Taiwan from January 29 until February 7, and in Australia from February 7-20, the league said.

On February 21, the league will cut down the lineup to 28 players who will play three warm-up games in Taiwan before flying to Japan on February 26 for the World Classic.

In the first World Baseball Classic in 2006, Taiwan failed to make into the top eight. So Taiwan's goal is to beat either Japan or South Korea and advance into the top eight, Lin Tzung-cheng, secretary-general of the Chinese-Taipei Baseball Association, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

Japan, South Korea and Taiwan are the three baseball nations in Asia, but China is catching up and humiliated Taiwan 8-7 at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

The defeat in the Olympics made Taiwan fans worry about the future of baseball on the island.

Taiwan's professional baseball is in limbo as the six-team league has lost two teams recently - with the T-Rex team being dissolved in October over game fixing and the China Trust Whales being disbanded in November due to lack of funds.

The United States hosted the first World Baseball Classic in 2006 with 16 teams playing a total of 36 games at four venues.

The second World Baseball Classic will kick off on March 5, 2009 with the preliminaries being played in Tokyo, Toronto, Puerto Rico, Mexico City, San Diego and Miami.

The finals will be held March 21-23 at the Dodgers Stadium in Los Angeles.

Taiwan will face China, Japan and South Korea in Pool A, who will play six games at the Tokyo Dome in Japan March 5-9.

In the 2006 tournament, Japan beat Cuba 10-6 to win the inaugural World Baseball Classic. (dpa)