PERTH, Oct 25: Ricky Ponting says Stuart MacGill is the obvious choice to step into Shane Warne’s shoes for the first Test against Sri Lanka.

MacGill is due to have a fitness check before New South Wales play Queensland in the Pura Cup on Friday, which is his last opportunity to prove he is ready after a pre-season knee operation.

Australia open their Test season at the Gabba on November 8 and Ponting expects MacGill to be there if he completes the four-day fixture. “He’s the obvious choice to take over from Shane, he’s on 198 Test wickets now, and he’s got them as quickly [in 40 Tests] as anyone in the history of the game,” Ponting told AAP.

”If Warne hadn’t been around Stuart would have taken a lot of wickets. And if you look at him, he probably would have fitted in to most other Test teams around the world over the last eight or 10 years.”—Agencies