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Australian captain Ricky Ponting and selector on-duty David Boon will take one final look at the WACA pitch on Thursday morning before naming their XI for the pivotal third Ashes Test.
Ahead of a match that may well define his captaincy, even to the point of bringing his rein to a swift conclusion, Ponting wants to be totally sure of conditions before choosing between the spin of debutant Michael beer and the pace of Peter Siddle or Ben Hilfenhaus.
“It’s still particularly grassy and I’ve had a good chat to Cameron (Sutherland, curator) about the wicket,” Ponting said.
“It’s different grass to what’s been on the wicket before.
“We’ve had a lot of things that we’ve got to think about before we finalise things yet.”
Numerous state sides have been fooled by the WACA pitch looking greener than it has played this summer, leaving Ponting unsure about what to do should he win the toss.
“There’s a chance of that (the pitch playing differently to how it looks) and that’s probably due to the different type of grass that’s on it at the moment,” he said.
“It’s not the thicker, coarse grass that was on the wicket the last couple of years, it’s a finer leaf sort of grass.
“When you’ve got wickets like that the ball tends to skip off that grass rather than holding on it that much.
“That’s why it’s important to get a good feel of it and and see how hard it is and whether there’s any moisture left in the surface before we make our decision.”
England must choose between Chris Tremlett and Tim Bresnan for the final pace bowling spot in their side following Stuart Broad’s premature exit from the tour.
They are trying to concentrate on the task at hand rather than becoming caught up in giddy thoughts about retaining the Ashes so quickly.
Squads:
Australia: Ricky Ponting (capt), Shane Watson, Phil Hughes, Michael Clarke, Mike Hussey, Steve Smith, Brad Haddin, Mitchell Johnson, Ryan Harris, Ben Hilfenhaus, Michael Beer, Peter Siddle (12th man tba).England: Andrew Strauss (capt), Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood, Ian Bell, Matt Prior, Tim Bresnan, Graeme Swann, Jimmy Anderson, Steve Finn, Chris Tremlett (12th man tba).
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