Who's Playing Who?

Australia have named their squad for the Test series in South Africa, starting on November 9 in Cape Town.

There has been only one change from the squad which toured Sri Lanka, with young NSW quick Patrick Cummins replacing Victorian James Pattinson in the squad. Cummins has played just three first class games, grabbing nine wickets, and recently took five wickets in the two-match Twenty20 series against the South Africans.

Outgoing chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch said in a statement that Cummins has a big future ahead of him, and the squad had a need for flexibility between the two Tests.

“Patrick is a very exciting prospect and at just 18 years of age is already showing the ability to have a significant impact at international level,” Hilditch said.

“Patrick would have most likely been on the tour of Sri Lanka if not for injury at the end of last season.

“Now he’s back fit and bowling well, we saw this as the right time to bring him into the Test squad for this important series.

“We face back-to-back Tests in South Africa ahead of another six Tests in Australia, so managing our fast bowlers through this tough schedule will be extremely important.

“The Tests will be played at the start of the South African summer in Cape Town and Johannesburg and we think the conditions will be quite different at both venues.

“This squad gives us the flexibility to adapt to all conditions and we think gives us the right balance to maximise our chances of winning the series.”

The full squad is: Michael Clarke (c), Shane Watson (vc), Michael Beer, Trent Copeland, Patrick Cummins, Brad Haddin, Ryan Harris, Phil Hughes, Mike Hussey, Mitchell Johnson, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Shaun Marsh, Ricky Ponting, Peter Siddle.

Be sure to check out whosplayingwho.net in the coming week to get Matt’s full Test series preview.