Brisbane: England paceman Jake Ball has beaten out Craig Overton to be the touring side’s fourth seamer in the series-opening Ashes Test against Australia starting in Brisbane on Thursday.
Ball will be thrown into the Gabba cauldron in just his fourth Test after recovering from a sprained ankle that saw him scratched from the tour match in Adelaide and rested for the final warm-up in Townsville last week, where Overton bowled.
He joins front-line quicks James Anderson and Stuart Broad at the Gabba, along with pace-bowling all-rounder Chris Woakes, for his first Test since Chennai last December.
Two of Ball’s three Tests came against India on that series, months after his debut against Pakistan at Lord’s, and he managed only two wickets across the three matches.
But the tall 26-year-old will hope to generate a lot of bounce off the juicy Gabba deck with his height, despite his limited preparations.
“Hopefully I can show that and nick a few of the Aussies off,” he said earlier this week.
“I’m in a really good position at the minute. I think we’re going to hit the ground running and I hope to surprise a few people. I think we’ve a really good chance.” Root, who declined to name the side earlier at his pre-match media conference on Wednesday, said it wasn’t an easy decision to go with Ball.
“Craig has come into the squad and everything asked of him he’s done really well,” Root said in a statement.
“All the players on their first tour have impressed and it’s great that the whole squad seems to be performing.
“Jake has bowled well when he’s had his opportunity on the tour and the way he goes about things on these surfaces could be really challenging for the Australians.” The rest of the England side is as expected, with the inexperienced trio of James Vince, Dawid Malan and opener Mark Stoneman to feature in the batting lineup and spin bowling Moeen Ali included as a second all-rounder.
Australia batsman Shaun Marsh has joined opener David Warner as an injury concern on the eve of the series-opening Test. Marsh strained his back during training at the Gabba on Wednesday, Cricket Australia said, a day after Warner hurt his neck during a fielding drill.
All-rounder Glenn Maxwell has been drafted in as cover for Warner should the vice-captain be unable to shake off the injury.
However, there was no suggestion from the board that a second player would be brought in to cover for Marsh, who would have moved up the order to open with his uncapped Western Australia teammate Cameron Bancroft.
Australia skipper Steve Smith backed Warner to be fit and ready for the start of the five-match series, before Marsh’s injury was revealed later on Wednesday.
Maxwell was omitted from the 13-man Ashes squad named last week, with Marsh named as his replacement.
The selection of the injury-prone Marsh was criticised by local media and pundits given his modest test record and Australia’s usual preference for an all-rounder to help with the bowling load.
Smith said Warner’s neck was causing him discomfort when lifting his head more than when he moved it from side-to-side, which could be a concern on the Gabba’s typically bouncy pitch.
England captain Joe Root, who declined to reveal the makeup of the tourists’ side, expected Warner to take his place in the home team.
“I’m sure it’ll be fine, these sort of things tend to crop up before a big series,” he told reporters at the Gabba. “But I don’t think we need to change our plans on anything. We’ll still prepare the same.”
