Austraila calls up uncapped Joe Mennie, Khawja retains his spot

Jan 30, 2019 at 12:52 PM

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Austraila calls up uncapped Joe Mennie, Khawja retains his spot

There were few surprises and twists in the selection meet of Australian cricket team for the first two matches of the Test series against South Africa. The first surprise was the inclusion of outspoken Usman Khawaja who recently criticized Steve Smith for dropping him and Joe burns in Sri Lanka for their dual failures on which he terms as a tough pitch. The second one and a big one is the inclusion of uncapped fast bowler Joe Mennie who has been included in the squad at the place of Jackson Bird, who was pretty much sure of a call-up.

His inclusion comes as a surprise as Mennie had a horrendous ODI debut as he conceded 82 runs against South Africa in the recently concluded 5 match ODI bilateral series. However, the blow was blunted with a 3 wicket haul in the next game. Still, it was Bird who was hopeful for a recall as he scalped 6 wicket haul in the Sheffield game but selectors stunned everyone by going for Mennie in place of Bird.

“Joe bowls a great length at a lively pace and his form in first-class cricket has been terrific in the last 12 months,” Marsh said. “He also impressed us during the recent Australia A Series in Queensland,

“He was the highest wicket-taker in the Sheffield Shield last season and is very handy with the bat,” he added.

Coming back from an injury, Shaun Marsh has also made a comeback in the side. He warmed up well with a century and a half-century in the 4-day fixture against South Australia but came in a losing cause.

“Both Shaun and Joe played very well in the Sheffield Shield round, but Shaun is coming off back-to-back hundreds in Test matches and has performed very well in Perth and Hobart so we have opted to go with him,” Rod Marsh said on the selection of Marsh.

The first Test match of the three-match series will be played at Perth from November 3. Hobart will witness the second Test match whereas the third and final match at Adelaide will be a day/night fixture that will be played with a pink ball.

Squad for the first two Tests: Steve Smith, David Warner, Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Joe Mennie, Peter Nevill, Peter Siddle, Mitchell Starc, Adam Voges.
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