Hazlewood, Siddle, Johnson on ice
Daniel Brettig
November 22, 2014
Josh Hazlewood, Peter Siddle and Mitchell Johnson have effectively become the first three men named in Australia's Test squad to face India at the Gabba after being rested by Cricket Australia from the round of Sheffield Shield matches that precedes the first Test.
The selectors met to decide on their squad on Saturday, before its announcement on Monday. The likely fourth fast-bowling name in Australia's squad will be Ryan Harris, but he has asked for and been granted an extra run with Queensland to further groove his bowling rhythm following knee surgery.
It is plausible that Harris will be in the squad for Brisbane but not play until the second Test in Adelaide, due to commence only four days after the conclusion of the Gabba match. This would be similar to the approach taken with Harris when he was returning from injury at the outset of the 2013 Ashes series in England, where he was deemed unready for Trent Bridge but chosen for Lord's.
Hazlewood would thus be favoured to make his debut at the Gabba, ending a four-year wait since his first international appearance in an ODI in England to finally clasp a baggy green cap. At 23, Hazlewood's pace, rhythm and steep trajectory are all considered useful weapons against the Indians, who will have only a pair of warm-up matches on more docile Adelaide surfaces before reaching Brisbane.
Save for the captain Michael Clarke, all other members of the Test squad are to play in the Shield round, with Shane Watson a chance of being rested from the final ODI against South Africa in Sydney ahead of his first long-form fixture since the third Test against South Africa in Cape Town as far back as March.
Brad Haddin has progressed decently in his return from an AC joint injury suffered when he fell heavily on day two of the second Test against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi, and will lead the Blues against South Australia at the SCG from Tuesday. David Warner and Steven Smith will join him in the NSW batting order.
Mitchell Marsh will turn out for Western Australia alongside his brother Shaun, who is a strong chance of being named in the squad despite still struggling to throw following shoulder surgery during the off season. Shaun Marsh's one hundred in three matches this season is not an outstanding return, but it shades the meagre run-making of both Phillip Hughes and Alex Doolan since their returns from the UAE.
Chris Rogers is the only member of the UAE Test squad to have made a first-class century since his return home, a polished effort against South Australia likely to have shored up his place in the squad after he was rumoured to have been very close to the precipice of selection at the end of the Pakistan matches.
The tenuous state of Clarke, who is expected to be named in the Gabba squad with a fitness-pending asterisk against his name but is at extremely long odds to play until at least Boxing Day, is also believed to have helped Rogers' cause, leaving the selectors reluctant to change too many names in the top six.
