1 November 2007

Australia have named their squad to face Sri Lanka in the first Test in Brisbane, with Mitchell Johnson being called up for the first time while Brad Hogg, Stuart MacGill and Phil Jaques are recalled.

Shaun Tait also returns to the squad after returning from injury with Australia set to enter a new era without Justin Langer, Glenn McGrath or Shane Warne.

The first Test starts on November 8th.

Commenting on the selections, NSP Chairman Andrew Hilditch said:

"We have selected a squad of 13 for the first 3 mobile Test match. We did the same last year as it gives us the opportunity to take the players to Brisbane, watch their preparation, assess the conditions in Brisbane and decide on the best balance for our team,” Hilditch said.

“Phil Jaques has been given the great honour of opening the batting for Australia with the retirement of one of our greatest opening batsmen in Justin Langer. These are very big shoes to fill but we are really quite excited about the new era. This is a richly deserved opportunity for Phil after years of excellent Pura Cup performances, an extremely impressive Australia A tour of Pakistan and another strong start to the 2007-08 season.

“We have named both Stuart MacGill and Brad Hogg in the squad of 13. Stuart MacGill is an excellent leg-spinner with a great record for Australia and Brad Hogg, despite having limited 4-day experience due to his outstanding one-day record, is coming off a very strong performance for Western Australia in the Pura Cup. Having both of them in the squad gives us the opportunity again to assess the conditions and decide upon what selection is best for the team.

“It is fairly standard to select four fast bowlers in the Australian squad. The bowlers we have chosen are all different and all bring exciting aspects to the team. Again the conditions in Brisbane will play a large role in determining the final makeup of our fast-bowling line-up.”

Australia: Ricky Ponting (captain), Matthew Hayden, Phil Jaques, Michael Clarke, Mike Hussey, Andrew Symonds, Adam Gilchrist (wicket-keeper, vice-captain), Brad Hogg, Brett Lee, Stuart Clark, Mitchell Johnson, Stuart MacGill, Shaun Tait

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