Published: Jan 05, 2015, 09:17 AM (IST)
Edited: Jan 05, 2015, 09:17 AM (IST)
Australia have confirmed that they have made one change for the fourth and final Test against India starting Tuesday. Mitchell Starc comes in the team to replace injured bowler Mitchell Johnson.
As reported by Cricketcountry.com, Australian skipper Steve Smith on Monday said that had the series been in balance, Johnson, who has a hamstring strain, might have still played but with a long season coming up, the team management doesn’t “want to risk him”.
“I think there’s no secret there’s a pretty big summer coming up,” Smith said.
“We want him to be fresh for the One-Day International (ODI) and World Cup coming up. We don’t want to risk him.”
Johnson, 33, had some right hamstring soreness during the third Test at Melbourne and has not recovered since then. Starc’s confirmation sees him pip pacer Peter Siddle and spin bowler Ashton Agar in the race to make it to the XI.
Last week, after securing a draw in the Boxing Day Test, Australia have managed to reclaim the Border-Gavaskar trophy which they lost in 2013. They won the first two Tests in Adelaide and Brisbane.
Australia Playing XI – David Warner, Chris Rogers, Shane Watson, Steve Smith (c), Shaun Marsh, Joe Burns, Brad Haddin (wk), Ryan Harris, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood.
