Share

Bird in for injured Pattinson

Cape Town - Australia have replaced injured seamer James Pattinson with Jackson Bird for the forthcoming Test tour of Bangladesh that gets underway later this month.

This comes less than 24 hours after Mitchell Starc was ruled out of the tour and was replaced by leg spinner Mitchell Swepson.

Bird may have counted himself a little unlucky to miss out on the squad in the first place having done well against South Africa and Pakistan at the turn of the year.

He lost his place in the XI to Pat Cummins on the India tour which he was a part of despite not playing a single Test.

Pattinson has had a horror run of injuries and has not featured in a Test since February 2016 when he faced New Zealand in Christchurch.

The tour to Bangladesh had been in doubt but the resolution of the headline grabbing pay dispute this week will come as a relief to the hosts.

Bird has made the cut ahead of seamers Chad Sayers, who was the leading wicket-taker in the Sheffield Shield last season as well as Chris Tremain and Jason Behrendorff evidence the healthy state of fast bowling in Australia.

The first Test against Bangladesh gets underway on August 27 in Mirpur.

Australia squad: Steven Smith (captain), David Warner (vice-captain), Ashton Agar, Hilton Cartwright, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Matthew Wade (wk), Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Matt Renshaw, Mitchell Swepson, Jackson Bird

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Should Siya Kolisi keep the captaincy as the Springboks build towards their World Cup title defence in 2027?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
Yes! Siya will only be 36 at the next World Cup. He can make it!
25% - 1273 votes
No! I think the smart thing to do is start again with a younger skipper ...
29% - 1473 votes
I'd keep Siya captain for now, but look to have someone else for 2027.
45% - 2251 votes
Vote
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE