Injury-hit Australia name 17 for Ashes
Australia named an outsized 17-man squad Monday as they battle
injuries and poor form ahead of the crunch Ashes series against England,
where they hope to halt a worrying slide down the Test rankings.
Selectors' chairman Andrew Hilditch said officials would watch this
week's domestic and Australia A fixtures before trimming the party to 13
before the opening Test on November 25.
"It's a longer squad than normal primarily because we want to look at
the next round of (Sheffield) Shield games and the Australia A clash
(against England)," Hilditch said. Star batsman Michael Clarke was
retained as Ricky Ponting's vice-captain despite a flare-up of back
problem, while there were surprise call-ups for batsman Usman Khawaja
and left-arm finger-spinner Xavier Doherty.
Fast-bowler Doug Bollinger and batsman Simon Katich were given the
chance to recover from rib and thumb problems respectively when they
play in domestic comeback games this week.
Victoria quick Peter Siddle is returning from stress fractures in his
back which sidelined him in January, while paceman Ryan Harris was
included after making an impressive return from knee surgery.
Under-fire Michael Hussey and Marcus North hung onto their places
despite indifferent recent performances with the bat.
Once-mighty Australia are coming off an abysmal year with a 2-0 Test
defeat in India among seven straight losses which pushed them down to
fifth in the Test rankings, one below arch-rivals England.
"The (selection panel) has been pleased with the performance of the
Test side in India however we were obviously disappointed in the
result," Hilditch said.
"With two losses in games where we felt the result could easily have
been different and we realise there are some important areas we need to
improve on before this summer's matches."
The squad was unveiled at a gala launch in front of Sydney's famed
Opera House and Harbour Bridge, after ticket sales were reportedly hit
by the strong Australian dollar and ongoing financial turmoil in Britain
and Europe. However an unseasonal downpour kept many fans away with only
about 100 people turning up. Australia are fighting to reclaim the Ashes
trophy after their defeat in England last year.
The Australian team
- Ricky Ponting (capt), Michael Clarke (vice-capt), Doug Bollinger,
Xavier Doherty, Callum Ferguson, Brad Haddin, Ryan Harris, Nathan
Hauritz, Michael Hussey, Ben Hilfenhaus, Mitchell Johnson, Simon Katich,
Usman Khawaja, Marcus North, Peter Siddle, Steven Smith, Shane Watson
SYDNEY, Monday AFP |
