Nile called up for first West Indies Test

Australia on Tuesday turned to James Pattinson and Nathan Coulter-Nile to replenish their diminishing fast bowling ranks for next week’s opening Test against the West Indies.

Australia’s chief selector Rod Marsh said he wasn’t too concerned about the lack of match-play Coulter-Nile has coming into the first Test in Hobart. He will play for Victoria in the Sheffield Shield round starting this Sunday unless Cricket Australia summon him to Hobart.

He should have bowled for Western Australia last weekend but was given a one-match ban for showing dissent at an umpire’s decision in the domestic second XI league, meaning he has not played first-class cricket since the Sheffield Shield final in March.

It was as much Coulter-Nile’s pace – close to the 140kph that Australia coach Darren Lehmann has cited as the preferred benchmark for Test quicks – as his proven ability at global level that saw him leap frog in-form Shield bowlers such as Tasmania’s Jackson Bird.

Marsh said Boland had been placed on standby just in case Australia’s bowlers did not fully recover from a heavy workload over the summer so far.

“He’s bowling very well at the moment and is not far off selection”.

The 26-year-old has done a mountain of fitness work in recent years, dropping 22 kilograms.

Peter Siddle, who has become even more important to Australia’s plans with the pressures on the pace brigade, experienced back problems during last weekend’s day-night third Test against New Zealand in Adelaide. Hazlewood’s bowled a total of 119.1 overs throughout the three-Test series and Smith noted he would need a rest soon. “The last couple of days of a Test match can be quite hard for a fast bowler”.

“That’s one thing I can promise you because they just don’t get through a lot of Test matches in a row”.

If more of those sorts of pitches are prepared for Test matches, then seamers who bowl in the low to mid 130s (kph) will come under consideration by the selectors, Marsh claimed.

“I guess we’re on the state of affairs now the place due to the 2 Mitchells, one retiring and one being injured, that we do want a little bit of tempo up entrance”.