Ponting Returns; Lee Rested

Ricky Ponting has returned to the Australian one-day squad while Brett Lee is rested for the South Africa VB Series ODI on Friday.

Ponting replaces Brad Hodge while Brett Dorey replaces Lee. There is however no place for Nathan Bracken, who missed Australia’s last ODI against Sri Lanka with personal problems.

Ponting had the following to say on Lee being rested for the match “He’s been up for a long time and doing what he does he probably has more stress and physical burn-out than anybody else in the side, so we felt now was an ideal time to give him a rest”.

Australia
Adam Gilchrist, Simon Katich, Ricky Ponting (captain), Damien Martyn, Andrew Symonds, Michael Clarke, Michael Hussey, Brad Hogg, Brett Dorey, Stuart Clark, Glenn McGrath, Supersub James Hopes.