Hodge added to Australian squad for the VB Series

Cricket Australia’s National Selection Panel (NSP) today announced that Brad Hodge would join the Australian one-day international (ODI) squad for the next match against Sri Lanka in Adelaide, while captain Ricky Ponting is rested.

The NSP will review the squad on a match-by-match basis for the remainder of the season.

NSP Chairman of Selectors, Trevor Hohns, reiterated the intention of the selectors to continue to manage the workload of senior players throughout a demanding summer of cricket.

“We feel that Ricky Ponting needs and deserves a break. He has played every match for Australia in all forms of the game for the past ten months, and we think this is the right time for him to allow his body to rest,” said Hohns.

Victorian middle-order batsman, Brad Hodge will join the squad in Adelaide this evening after becoming the first Australian to score a century on home soil in Twenty20 cricket during Sunday’s domestic competition final.

“Brad Hodge is a logical replacement to bat at number three. He played exceptionally well during the Twenty20 match on the weekend and was a successful replacement for Damien Martyn in the middle order for the Chappell-Hadlee Series in New Zealand last month, “said Hohns.

Ricky Ponting said, “It’s been a long summer already with lots of cricket and halfway through the VB Series is the right time to have a few days at home and freshen up before the final part of the series.

“These rests have been done before and we have found that when the guys have a chance to have a break, the results indicate that it is good for them,” Ponting said.

Adam Gilchrist will assume the captaincy, with Michael Hussey acting as vice-captain.

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