After all of the talk of whether he should stick or twist, Leon Smith's provisional Davis Cup Final squad was announced today as he stuck to his tried and trusted. With the usual suspects of the Murrays and Dom Inglot named, they were joined by the not so certain James Ward and youngster Kyle Edmund.

Smith keeps faith in Ward

Much of the talk over the weekend, especially with Alijaz Bedene's appeal result announced on Tuesday, centered on who would be chosen as the British number two nomination to partner the untouchable Andy Murray. Whilst arguments were made for Bedene, Ward and Edmund, it seems Smith, albiet with time still to switch, has decided to keep faith in James Ward.

Despite some poor form in the latter part of the season, Ward would appear to have been given the nod of faith and Smith whe will be hopeful can repay him with a performance of the same class as he produced against John Isner in round one. He has found form recently, although in some lesser known challenger events, but the move still represents a measured risk for Smith.

Edmund, meanwhile, is yet to make his Davis Cup debut, having been named in provisional, and final squads before now. The talented player, who won on the clay at the weekend, seems a long shot to make his debut on the biggest of stages.

Alijaz Bedene will be hoping to win his appeal (Source: Guardian)
Alijaz Bedene will be hoping to win his appeal (Source: Guardian)

Meanwhile, it would appear that no matter the outcome of his appeal, Bedene will not be thrown in ahead of those who have gotten the Brits to the final. As he awaits news of whether or not the decision to not allow him to switch allegiances from Slovenia to Great Britain is overturned, Bedene may have to wait until 2016 to get his chance.

However, Leon Smith can change his nominations all the way up until next Thursday, were he to have a change of heart and prefer the higher ranked Bedene over Ward, or even call upon Dan Evans were there to be an injury crisis.

Full Great Britain Provisional Squad

Andy Murray (World Ranking 2)

James Ward (WR 155)

Kyle Edmund (WR 99)

Jamie Murray (Doubles Ranking 7)

Dom Inglot (DR 23)

Stay tuned to VAVEL over the next few weeks for all of our build up to the huge Davis Cup final as GB take on Belgium. We'll be bringing you more reviews of all the action, more previews and more indepth discussion.

Why not have a look at our review of the Group I action: https://www.vavel.com/en/tennis/563598-davis-cup-group-i-review-nadal-to-the-rescue-for-spain.html

Or even our countdown of Great Britain's top five matches from 2015: https://www.vavel.com/en/tennis/564213-top-five-great-britian-davis-cup-matches-of-2015.html

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About the author
Jack Haugh
Freelance sports writer, specialising in tennis.