Siddle picked for Perth ahead of Mennie

Australia have confirmed that paceman Peter Siddle will play as the third seamer against South Africa in Perth, leaving no room for uncapped Joe Mennie.

Siddle has not played a Test since February when he got injured, but his experience at the WACA, and against the Proteas, pushed him ahead of rookie Mennie.

Skipper Steve Smith told reporters: “They’re the kind of bowlers that can really tie up an end, who can hit consistent areas and build good pressure and keep runs down,.

“We’ve gone with Sidds for this Test and it’s good to have him back as well after a fair injury lay-off.”

Spinner John Holland made way for Siddle, while all-rounder Moises Henriques fell away to make room for batsman Usman Khawaja at number three.

All-rounder Mitchell Marsh was named in the XI despite being out of form with the bat, but Smith was confident the younger Marsh brother would fire soon.

He added: “I’ve watch him pretty closely over the past six months and I think he’s made a lot of improvements in his game.

“We’ve been working on him play the ball a bit softer in his hands in defence.

“I know if he spends a lot of time out in the middle he can score incredibly quickly, he hits the ball as hard as anyone.”

Australia XI: 1 David Warner, 2 Shaun Marsh, 3 Usman Khawaja, 4 Steven Smith (capt), 5 Adam Voges, 6 Mitchell Marsh, 7 Peter Nevill (wk), 8 Mitchell Starc, 9 Peter Siddle, 10 Josh Hazlewood, 11 Nathan Lyon.

Latest