Australia announce 12-man squad for second Ashes Test
The Australian cricket team have announced a 12-man squad ahead of the second Ashes Test which is set to begin on Wednesday, 14th August at the iconic Lord's stadium in London.
Tearaway fast-bowler James Pattinson has been left out of the squad to include the senior duo of Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood. Pattinson's absence is more to do with Australia monitoring his workload as the 29-year-old played his first Test match after a three-year absence due to injuries, in the first Test of the series at Edgbaston.
Also, this decision falls in line with Australia's overall rotational policy for their fast-bowlers during this long and hard tour. Even before the series began, skipper Tim Paine had remarked that the trio of Pat Cummins, Hazlewood and Starc won't be featuring together in this series. Paine also added that Australia have been 'way too reliant' on the senior trio in the past and this has resulted in them picking up a lot of injuries on the run.
The New South Wales seam bowler Hazlewood is tipped to replace Pattinson in the Australian line-up for the second Test match unless the team decides to go with Mitchell Starc due to the assistance that the famous Lord's slope provides to left-arm fast bowlers.
The 28-year-old Hazlewood didn't do any sort of harm to his chances of getting picked for this upcoming Test as he impressed with a three-wicket haul during Australia's practice match against Worcestershire.
The team will hope to carry forward their impressive performance from the first Test which saw them triumphing by a massive margin of 251 runs to lead the series 1-0.
Australia's XII for the Lord's Test: Tim Paine (c/wk), David Warner, Cameron Bancroft, Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Matthew Wade, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Peter Siddle, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood.
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