BRISBANE, Nov 22: Australian skipper Ricky Ponting has restated his faith in Glenn McGrath to rise to the occasion as the ageing fast bowler goes into Thursday's Ashes opener with limited preparation.

McGrath's ability to bowl successive spells in hot weather was called into question on Wednesday when the Australians released tearaway fast bowler Shaun Tait from the Test squad, opening the way for the home team to go into the Gabba Test with just four bowlers.

McGrath, the third highest Test wicket-taker of all time, with 542 wickets, has had limited first-class bowling since early January, after taking eight months out of cricket to tend to his ill wife.

But Ponting said he trusted McGrath to produce the goods in the eagerly awaited opening match of the five-Test series.

“I think Glenn knows his body and knows himself probably better than anyone else and he's not going to take himself into a game if he doesn't think he's not 100 percent prepared. So you have to show a lot of trust in these sort of players,” Ponting said on Wednesday.—AFP