Symonds comes into starting 11

Andrew Symonds has been named to come in for the retired Damien Martyn for the third Ashes Test at the WACA in Perth starting on Thursday.

West Australian batsman Adam Voges missed out to Symonds, while fast bowler Mitchell Johnson again carries the drinks as 12th man.

Ponting commented on the inclusion of Symonds to the BBC saying “I watched him pretty closely over the last few days and he has been extremely excited to be back among this group.”

“He might have thought his Test career had passed him by a few months ago but he has done every training session in his baggy green cap and he is very excited to have it back on.

“We all know what a great talent he is and he hasn’t shown it at Test level yet – hopefully over the next few days we will see some of that,” Ponting added.

On the injury front, there is a good news on Shane Watson who will play for Queensland within the next few days as he looks towards getting himself fit and available for selection for the fourth Test in Melbourne starting on Boxing Day.

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