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| December 23, 2002 | Monday | Shawwal 18, 1423 |
MacGill recalled for fourth Ashes Test
MELBOURNE, Dec 22: Stuart MacGill was recalled to Australia’s squad on Sunday to replace the injured Shane Warne for the fourth Ashes Test against England in Melbourne starting on Thursday.
Leg-spinner MacGill was the only change to the side that thrashed England in each of the first three Tests to clinch the five-match series. Warne was ruled out of the Test after dislocating his right shoulder in a one-day match against England.
Although he has not played a Test in almost a year, MacGill was expected to be chosen to replace Warne.
“He is a high-class performer with a big-match temperament, something that is shown by his figures in Test matches, and he has an outstanding record against England,” Australia’s chairman of selectors Trevor Hohns said on Sunday.
Meanwhile, selectors have confirmed for the first time that they have spoken to Test captain Steve Waugh about his international playing future.
Hohns ended weeks of speculation when he told Sunday Telegraph the board had spoken to Waugh about his future.
Hohns said Waugh had the board’s support for the final two Tests but there were no guarantees beyond that. “We have had initial discussions,” Hohns was quoted as saying.
“At the moment Stephen has our support until the Sydney Test. The decision is then up to him whether he wants to continue or not.”
Despite being one of cricket’s greatest ever players, Waugh was dropped from the one-day side in February. His twin brother Mark was left out of the Test team in November, prompting him to announce his retirement from the international arena.
Steve has made it clear he wants to continue captaining Australia beyond the Ashes series but there is increasing speculation he may retire after Sydney rather than face the ignominy of being dropped.
SQUAD: Steve Waugh (captain), Justin Langer, Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting, Damien Martyn, Darren Lehmann, Adam Gilchrist, Brett Lee, Jason Gillespie, Stuart MacGill, Glenn McGrath, Andy Bichel.—Reuters
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