Australia keep pace rather than spin

Cricket: Fast bowlers Mitchell Johnson and Shaun Tait have been included in Australia's 13-man squad for the second Ashes Test…

Cricket:Fast bowlers Mitchell Johnson and Shaun Tait have been included in Australia's 13-man squad for the second Ashes Test against England which starts at the Adelaide Oval on Friday.

Selectors named the pair alongside the 11 players who won the series opener in Brisbane yesterday by 277 runs.

However, the inclusion of Queensland left-armer Johnson and South Australia paceman Tait means leg spinner Stuart MacGill once again misses out.

Tait was originally in the squad for Brisbane but was released 24 hours before the start while left-armer Johnson - who has yet to make his Test debut - was named as 12th man and played instead in a Pura Cup match for Queensland.

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"We are obviously thrilled with the first Test result but we expect Adelaide to be an extraordinarily tough Test match," said national selection panel chairman Andrew Hilditch.

"With that in mind we'll continue to look at our options to improve the team as we prepare for a series of tough Ashes encounters.

"We have picked a squad of 13 to suit the conditions in Adelaide and will look to finalise the 11 during the course of preparation for this Test match."

Queensland all-rounder Shane Watson was not considered for selection as he was given more time to overcome the hamstring strain which kept him out of the first Test, which had a knock-on effect for MacGill.

"It is very disappointing for Shane Watson that he will not be fit for this match but we are hopeful for a speedy recovery in advance of the third Test," Hilditch added.

"The possibility of using two specialist spinners (Shane Warne and MacGill) continues to be discussed. That decision is made more difficult while Shane Watson is unfit but it will be reviewed depending on the particular conditions we will face at each venue."

Australia squad:Ricky Ponting (capt), Adam Gilchrist (wkt), Stuart Clark, Michael Clarke, Matthew Hayden, Mike Hussey, Mitchell Johnson, Justin Langer, Brett Lee, Damien Martyn, Glenn McGrath, Shaun Tait, Shane Warne.
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