BRISBANE - Australia will unleash a new-look fast bowling attack with Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc named Tuesday to take on India in the second Test in Brisbane.
New skipper Steve Smith said Hazlewood and left-armer Starc will play in the game beginning Wednesday, with Ryan Harris suffering a quad strain and Peter Siddle omitted from the team that won the opening Test by 48 runs in Adelaide on Saturday. “I think this pitch will suit Josh perfectly,” Smith said at his eve of match media conference. “He’s very skilful for his age and I’m just looking forward to seeing him zing a few through and bowl with that extra bit of pace and bounce as well.”
Smith said the expected lively Gabba wicket was a factor in the inclusion of 23-year-old Hazlewood and Starc, 24. “I think that’s part of the reason why Mitchell Starc and John Hazlewood have been included in the team, that’s for sure,” he said. “It is traditionally a fast and bouncy wicket and it looks no different for this Test match.” Starc’s inclusion will mean there is a second left-armer in the Australian new-ball attack alongside Mitchell Johnson.
Starc has taken 43 wickets in 13 Tests at 35.34, while Hazlewood forces his way into the eleven on the back of strong performances in one-day internationals against South Africa last month. Shaun Marsh will come into the Australian batting line-up at number five for the injured Test skipper Michael Clarke. Clarke underwent surgery on Tuesday for a torn right hamstring and will be out for the rest of the four-match India series.
Shaun Marsh and younger brother Mitchell will play together in the Australia Test side for the first time and are set to become the first brothers to represent Australia at Test level since Steve and Mark Waugh in 2002. Smith, who was anointed as the 45th Australian Test captain on Monday, will promote himself to four in the batting order to take over Clarke’s regular position. “I’ve had a chat to a couple of the senior players and the coach (Darren Lehmann) about it and I just thought that taking over the captaincy and a bit of extra responsibility that I would step up to number four and get the job done,” Smith said.
The Gabba pitch is expected to be far livelier than last week’s flat Adelaide Oval strip with high humidity likely to give assistance to fast bowlers. “After the wickets we’ve played on recently in Test cricket at the Adelaide Oval and the two in the UAE (Pakistan), it’s exciting for our fast bowlers to finally have a wicket that’s got some liveliness to it,” Smith said. Smith said his team will continue to play aggressive and positive cricket and not step over the line after code of conduct fines in the last Test.
Australia’s David Warner and India duo Shikhar Dhawan and stand-in skipper Virat Kohli were found guilty of breaching the ICC code of conduct and handed fines for bust-ups during the stormy first Test. “That’s up to the match referee and those guys to decide,” Smith said. “We always play an aggressive and positive brand of cricket and there’s a line there and the fines have said that they have overstepped that line... hopefully no one oversteps the line in the next couple of games.”
Squad: David Warner, Chris Rogers, Shane Watson, Steve Smith (capt), Shaun Marsh, Mitchell Marsh, Brad Haddin, Mitchell Johnson, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood.
Dhoni has no fears for India on pacy Gabba pitch:
Mahendra Singh Dhoni said Tuesday he is unconcerned by India’s losing record at the Gabba and backed his team to do well on fast wickets in the second Test against Australia.
Wicketkeeper Dhoni, who will return from injury to lead the tourists in Wednesday’s Brisbane Test after recovering from a fractured thumb, said the likely lively pitch held no fears. The Australians have proved formidable in Brisbane where the pace and bounce troubles touring sides, none more so than India who have not won in five attempts. “Yes, if you talk about stats, it is right (India haven’t won in five Tests) but on the fastest wickets India have won Test matches there, whether it’s Johannesburg, Durban or Perth,” said Dhoni, who has never played a Test in Brisbane.

“It is a new challenge for the young fellows and they will learn a lot and hopefully stand up and perform.” Australia’s last Gabba Test loss was against the Viv Richards-led West Indies by nine wickets in 1988. But as Dhoni points out India have not faced Australia in Brisbane since 2003 when a Sourav Ganguly century gave the tourists a first innings lead only to draw. “More often that not I prefer wickets that are slightly on the greener side,” he said.
“The reason being that our bowlers become much more effective and the batsmen will have to formulate a way to get runs on that kind of wicket. “More often that we have done well on wickets that have helped the fast bowlers because it makes our job slightly easier to get the opposition batsmen out. “That’s where we have struggled in the last two or three series, we have been in positions to win Test matches but we have not been able to capitalise on that.”
Dhoni would not divulge India’s likely team, but did highlight Ravichandran Ashwin’s selection claims after the 21-Test off-spinner was left out of the series opener in Adelaide. “Ashwin is definitely someone who can bat lower down the order,” Dhoni said. Dhoni’s return has ramped up debate about his success rate as skipper in Tests outside of India.
He has won just six out of 28 outside his homeland and if he loses the three remaining Tests in Australia Dhoni will become the most defeated captain away from home in the history of the game. Stand-in skipper Virat Kohli earned praise for his leadership in Adelaide where he scored back-to-back centuries and led a bold India run-chase before the tourists went down all guns blazing by 48 runs last Saturday.
“He has been fantastic, not only as a batsman, but also a leader,” Dhoni said of Kohli. “He is an aggressive character, he’s slightly different to what I am, but you don’t want all the the individuals to captain the same way because then you miss the character of the individual.”
SECURITY INCREASED FOR INDIA TEST AFTER SYDNEY SIEGE: Security has been beefed up with more police drafted in for this week’s second Australia-India cricket Test in Brisbane after a lone gunman laid siege to a Sydney cafe, officials said Tuesday.
Queensland state Premier Campbell Newman said while there was no specific threat, his government wanted to reassure fans and make them feel safe. “We are concerned about these sorts of actions occurring as we have (been) for many months,” Newman told reporters. “We will have all available officers out there at public venues such as the Test at the Gabba and around the streets and the suburbs of the cities and towns of Queensland.”
Two hostages and the extremist Iranian-born gunman who had held them captive were killed as heavily armed police stormed a central Sydney cafe Tuesday ending a 16-hour stand off, in an incident that has shocked the nation. The Australian team said their thoughts were with the victims and their families. “I would like to on behalf of the Australian team say our thoughts and prayers are with everyone involved in the tragic incident in Sydney last night,” stand-in captain Steve Smith said. “It was shocking and we’re all thinking of everyone involved.”