Australia Announced Squad for Second Test Against Pakistan in Melbourne

Brisbane (Cliff News)The National Selection Panel (NSP) has named an unchanged 12-man squad for the second Commonwealth Bank Test against Pakistan at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, starting on Boxing Day (26 December).

To squad is as follows:

Steve Smith (C)

New South Wales

David Warner (VC)

New South Wales

Jackson Bird

Tasmania

Peter Handscomb

Victoria

Josh Hazlewood

New South Wales

Usman Khawaja

Queensland

Nathan Lyon

New South Wales

Nic Maddinson

New South Wales

Matt Renshaw

Queensland

Chadd Sayers

South Australia

Mitchell Starc

New South Wales

Matthew Wade

Victoria

Commenting on the squad Interim National Selector Trevor Hohns said: “These players have performed extremely well in earning back-to-back Test victories against South Africa and Pakistan and deserve the opportunity to stay together as a group to continue their development.“We have the option to add to the squad depending on how the bowling unit pulls up after getting through a lot of overs in Brisbane and if we opt to go down that path then that is a decision we will make over the coming days.“Shaun Marsh was not considered for selection as he continues his recovery from the finger injury that sidelined him following the Perth Test match and which has required surgery. He will be assessed by a specialist this week and will hopefully be given the all-clear to return to unrestricted training, at which point we will be able to consider him again for selection.“This squad has been selected for the Melbourne Test only and we will assess our requirements for Sydney during the Melbourne Test.”The NSP is made up of Trevor Hohns (Chairman), Greg Chappell, Darren Lehmann and Mark Waugh.