Aussies keep Maddinson in unchanged side

ROOKIE batsman Nic Maddinson will be given another chance to prove himself after Australia yesterday named an unchanged team for the second Test against Pakistan in Melbourne.

Maddinson’s place at No6 for the Boxing Day showpiece was in doubt after scores of 0, 1 and 4 in his first three Test innings, following his debut a g a i ns t So u t h Af r i c a i n Adelaide last month.

It meant that Zimbabweborn all-rounder Hilton Cartwright will not make his first appearance in today’s Test at t h e Me l b o u r n e C r i c k e t Ground.

Paceman Chadd Sayers again also misses out on a Test debut, with Australia sticking with the pace trio of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Jackson Bird. Spinner Nathan Lyon rounds out the attack.

“We brought the all-rounder into the squad because the bowlers had a pretty heavy workload, but they’ve pulled up well, and they’re confident they can get through,” skipper Steve Smith said yesterday.

“Obviously [Nic] hasn’t started the way he would have liked. I was really proud of him in the second innings in Brisbane to come out and do the thing for the team and try and score quick runs and have a crack.

“That’s what we want from our team, to have unselfish players like that, and I thought he did a good job to come out and do that.”

The decision to play Maddinson and not Cartwright means the home side will again field six specialist batsmen in what will be heat wave conditions for much of the second Test.

Pakistan’s spirited fourthinnings comeback at the daynight first Gabba Teat meant that Starc and Hazlewood each sent down 56 overs for the match, while Bird bowled 45.

With plenty of grass on the MCG wicket, Smith indicated he may be tempted to give his bowlers first use of the drop-in pitch should he win the toss.

“It’s a lot greener than I’ve seen it in the past couple of years,” Smith said. “The grass dies pretty quickly here, and the wicket goes white so we’ll sum it up in the morning and see what we want to do from there.

“I think the red ball out here is going to be a lot different to the pink ball [used in the Gabba Test]. It will probably stay harder for a lot longer, so we’ll be able to generate that bounce and carry that [like] we couldn’t do for long periods of time [in Brisbane].”

The unchanged team signals a desire for continuity after a period of turmoil during Australia’s recent 2-1 home series loss to South Africa.