Australia v India: Australia debutant Joe Burns to bat at six, India consider Suresh Raina
Thursday 25 December 2014 08:57, UK
Debutant Joe Burns will bat at number six and paceman Ryan Harris will return for Australia in the Boxing Day Test against India, captain Steve Smith said.
Smith, who won his first Test as captain as a replacement for the injured Michael Clarke at the Gabba last weekend, said Harris would come into the side at the expense of paceman Mitchell Starc for the Melbourne Test match.
Burns, 25, replaces injured allrounder Mitchell Marsh.
Shane Watson will rejoin the team after being hit by a bouncer in a net session. He will bat at number three despite scores of 14, 33, 25 and 0 so far in the series against India.
Smith said he had opted for continuity in the third Test.
"Shane Watson's best suited at the top of the order ... Joe will slot in at number six," Smith said.
"Mitch has been playing some pretty good cricket ... he was starting to find his feet.
"Disappointing for him, but Joe Burns gets his opportunity on Boxing Day and it's going to be a very special week for him.
"You've got to enjoy it, but I think it's just another cricket game for him and he's been hitting the ball really well, so look, I'm looking forward to seeing him come out here and hopefully score a few runs in this Test match," he said.
Shaun Marsh has also recovered after being struck in the nets this week, while Warner said he will “grind through the pain” and play despite a thumb injury.
If Australia win at the MCG they will have an unassailable lead in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, having won the opening Tests in Adelaide and Brisbane.
India's seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar injured ankle could keep him out of the Test, according to captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who also hinted that limited-overs specialist Suresh Raina may replace Rohit Sharma in the middle order.
"He has been working hard on his cricket and we will reflect once he gets a game," Dhoni said of Raina.
"We need a player like him, reason being apart from being a good batsman he is also a good bowler, so if there is some turn he can bowl a bit.
"He is someone who can bowl quite consistently. He can give me those 10-15 overs if it is really needed. So that's one area where we have been lacking in this set-up.
"There are not many batsmen who actually bowl. So we are trying to get batsmen to bowl so we can give a bit of rest needed for fast bowlers."
Watch the Boxing Day Test live on Sky Sports 2, with coverage from 11.30pm on Christmas Day.
