BIRMINGHAM, England, (Reuters) – Peter Nevill has got the nod ahead of Brad Haddin as Australia’s wicketkeeper for the third Ashes test against England at Edgbaston starting today.
Captain Michael Clarke said selection chairman Rod Marsh and coach Darren Lehmann had spoken to him about their decision to play Nevill but refused to rule out a possible return for Haddin, 37, in the future.
“He’s a great man Hadds..I’ve really loved having him as vice captain and he’s performed exceptionally well,” Clarke told reporters yesterday.
“He’s still working hard and will now wait for his opportunity whether that be through injury or getting another chance.”
Haddin, who has 66 test caps, played in the opening game in Cardiff but sat out the second match at Lord’s for family reasons.
That paved the way for Nevill to make his debut in Australia’s series-levelling win during which the 29-year-old took seven catches and scored a brisk 45 in the first innings. Clarke said he had yet to speak to Chris Rogers after the opening batsman survived a stiff examination from his bowling team mates in the nets on Monday.
Rogers, 37, had to retire in the second innings at Lord’s after suffering a dizzy spell.
“I haven’t seen him today so I’m looking forward to seeing how he pulls up after he batted really well in the nets yesterday,” said Clarke.
“It’s important for us to run with this momentum while we have it, take confidence from Lord’s but also remember how disciplined England were in Cardiff. We know how good an opposition they are.”
Clarke paid tribute to the out-of-form Ian Bell who will move up one place in England’s batting order following Gary Ballance’s exclusion.
“Belly’s been a class player for a long period so I don’t think moving up to number three is going to bother him too much,” he added.
“Adam Lyth might feel a little more pressure because he hasn’t played as much test cricket as someone like Belly,” said Clarke of the opening batsman who has also struggled for runs in this series.
“Belly’s a helluva player who has been extremely successful over a long period of time,” said Clarke.
“Whether he makes runs in this test or not I’m certain it’s not the end of his career. After this series I’d like to see him go on and make plenty more hundreds but in this series I’d like to keep his runs to a minimum.”
