Henriques, Maxwell, Called Up For India Tests

Henriques, Maxwell, Called Up For India Tests

Glenn Maxwell has been named in a 17-man Australia Test squad

©REUTERS / Action Images

Australia have named their 17-man squad for the four-Test series in India which gets underway next month, with Nathan Lyon, Steven Smith, Xavier Doherty and Glenn Maxwell as the spin bowling options.

Shane Watson and James Pattinson return from injury as all-rounder Moises Henriques earns a call-up having been involved in the One-Day International series against Sri Lanka.

"The First Test is scheduled to begin on 22 February in Chennai and, prior to the Test match, we have a good opportunity for members of the squad to get well acclimatised to the conditions with two warm-up fixtures," National Selection Panel (NSP) Chairman John Inverarity said.
 
"In the next 48 hours the NSP will finalise which players will go to India early, once we have all available information and have finalised the squad for the final three Commonwealth Bank Series matches. 
 
"This squad has the flexibility that will be required for the varying conditions expected in India and it will provide valuable experience to a number of young players.
 
"The squad includes a spin bowling all-rounder in Maxwell and a medium-fast all-rounder in Henriques. In aiming for more depth in a bowling attack, the squad would allow for three pace bowlers, a leading spinner and Maxwell  or two pace bowlers, the two spinners and Henriques. These are two of the options.
 
"Xavier Doherty also returns to the Test squad. We certainly feel he is much improved in the longer format of the game since he made his Test debut in 2010-11 against England.
 
"It is a long tour and a very important one as we look to continue our improvement in Test cricket and our quest to return to the top of the ICC Test cricket rankings. We are also building towards back-to-back Ashes series."

Australia Test squad: Michael Clarke (captain), Shane Watson (vice-captain), Jackson Bird, Ed Cowan, Xavier Doherty, Moises Henriques, Phllip Hughes, Mitchell Johnson, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, James Pattinson, Peter Siddle, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner

© Cricket World 2013