Australia name 3rd Test squad

Australia have named their 13 man squad for the third Test, with Andrew Symonds and Adam Voges replacing Damien Martyn and Shaun Tait.

Martyn’s retirement earlier today had already meant that one new spot would be up for grabs, but the decision to axe Tait was a surprising one.

What was arguably even more surprising, was the call up of Symonds and Voges. Symonds had not achieved anything like the succes that he enjoys in ODI cricket in the Test arena, while Voges was never even mentioned as an outside chance of making the squad.

The 27 year old has been in impressive form in the Pura Cup, averaging 53.06. Speaking about his call-up, the chairman of selectors, Andrew Hilditch, said “this was not an easy decision as there are many players pushing for selection, which augers well for the future. His inclusion in the squad is a just reward for his efforts to date.”

For his part, Andrew Symonds was as shocked as anyone about his inclusion, saying “I was flabbergasted when I got the call. I thought I was a million to one to play this series, especially when they went for Pup [Michael Clarke] when Watto was ruled out. I dug out my baggy green the other day when I was moving some stuff around and wondered if I would ever put it on my head again. That’s still up in the air but I’m obviously a fair bit closer to that moment than I thought I was.”

The third Test starts at the WACA in Perth on 9th December.

Australia Squad
Ricky Ponting (captain), Justin Langer, Matthew Hayden, Michael Hussey, Michael Clarke, Adam Voges, Andrew Symonds, Adam Gilchrist, Shane Warne, Brett Lee, Stuart Clark, Glenn McGrath, Mitchell Johnson.