November 15 Friday 2002
'Australia has all bases covered for Adelaide'

SYDNEY: Australia have all their bases covered despite going into the second Ashes Test in Adelaide with just one recognised spinner, chairman of selectors Trevor Hohns said on Thursday.

Australia on Thursday opted against calling in either Nathan Hauritz or Stuart MacGill on the spin-friendly wicket at the Adelaide Oval, in favour of retaining the squad which trounced England by 384 runs in Brisbane.

The Adelaide wicket always presents a selection dilemma, but Australia's performance at the Gabba along with paceman Brett Lee's 10-wicket haul for New South Wales, persuaded the selection panel against making changes.

"The option is always there to include two spinners but what we've found, in Brisbane and in the recent past, is the make up of the side with three fast bowlers and one spinner has done the job well in most conditions," said Hohns. "So after an emphatic win like that we thought it wasn't necessary to make any changes at all."

Hohns' selection panel colleague Allan Border, who is in Hobart coaching the Australia A side, added: "The Adelaide wicket can offer turn but we have something special in Shane Warne and Darren Lehmann can do a job quite tidily with his left-arm spinners.

"The wicket can be a bit up and down. However the wicket plays we think we have it covered." Queensland off-spinner Hauritz would have been the likely spinning choice, after being included in recent touring squads. But Lee, who was named as 12th man for the first Test, ensured he remained in the mix by returning to star for NSW against Tasmania in the Sheffield Shield.

There remains a chance that both Bichel and Lee could play in Adelaide, with Jason Gillespie to satisfy medical staff he has overcome calf muscle trouble. Gillespie bowled 24 overs in the Brisbane Test, finishing with match figures of 3-64. "We will have to monitor how Gillespie comes up. He bowled fantastically well in the Test but still seemed to be troubled by a calf injury," Border said.