Cam White gets Test call

[Donny]

MacGill skips Zimbabwe

Fox


AUSTRALIAN leg-spinner Stuart MacGill has made himself unavailable for the tour of Zimbabwe because of moral concerns over playing in the troubled African nation.

MacGill advised Australian selectors before they named the Test and one-day squads for the tour - starting next month - that he did not believe he could tour Zimbabwe and maintain a clear conscience.

The Aussies are due to visit Zimbabwe from May 13 to June 13 to play two Tests and three one-day internationals.

Victorian spinner Cameron White is a surprise inclusion in the 13-man Test squad to replace MacGill, while senior paceman Glenn McGrath makes his return from a nine-month injury layoff.

Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland said he has spoken to MacGill and understands his decision.

"Looking forward, the Australian national selection panel will continue to operate under the policy brief of selecting the best available team to represent Australia," he said.

He said MacGill's decision not to tour Zimbabwe will not hurt his chances of future selection for Australia.

But Sutherland said Cricket Australia believes that playing against Zimbabwe is "appropriate for the continued development of cricket as a global sport".

"We go there to play cricket with other cricketers to fulfil our obligations to world cricket through the ICC future tours program, and for no other reason," he said.

Queensland all-rounder Andrew Symonds and South Australian paceman Shaun Tait have been omitted from the Test squad which toured Sri Lanka last month.

Tasmanian Shane Watson has been recalled to the one-day squad following a lengthy spell on the sideline with a back injury.

Watson will get the opportunity to play his first limited-overs match for Australia since the 2002-03 VB Series.

Test squad: Ricky Ponting (capt), Adam Gilchrist (v-capt), Jason Gillespie, Matthew Hayden, Simon Katich, Michael Kasprowicz, Damien Martyn, Glenn McGrath, Justin Langer, Darren Lehmann, Shane Warne, Cameron White, Brad Williams.

One-day squad: Ricky Ponting (capt), Adam Gilchrist (v-capt), Michael Clarke, Jason Gillespie, Brad Hogg, Ian Harvey, Matthew Hayden, Michael Kasprowicz, Damien Martyn, Glenn McGrath, Darren Lehmann, Andrew Symonds, Shane Watson, Brad Williams.

[Donny]

Congratulations to Cameron White.

He becomes the third Bushranger to be rewarded for their excellent season after Elliott and Hodge recently received Oz Cricket contracts.

He represents a somewhat better alternative to MacGilla with his better control as a bowler and is more likely to score 50+ than MacGill's 10+ as a batsman.

Having said that, he's unlikely to play a Test in Zimbabwe unless Warney cops an injury.

It's great to see the Pigeon return to the two squads and Watson in the one day squad.