Cricket: McMillan recalled, Franklin suffers late injury

7.50am

BRISBANE - Craig McMillan has been recalled to the New Zealand team for the first test starting against Australia at the Gabba on Thursday.

The 28-year-old all-rounder was overlooked for New Zealand's recent tour of Bangladesh and was only called up for the series against Australia as a standby for injured batsman Nathan Astle and captain Stephen Fleming who has been ill.

Although Fleming and Astle have been cleared to play, New Zealand's selectors opted for McMillan ahead of specialist batsman Hamish Marshall who was relegated to 12th man.

"Craig McMillan's selection gives us greater experience and someone who is battle hardened for a test match of such magnitude," New Zealand coach John Bracewell said.

"Hamish had just one test innings in Bangladesh and, while he scored 50, was a bit out of touch in the one-day series. But what it really came down to was the small mental things - the fact that Craig has been there and done that. And the added bonus of a few overs may help."

The Kiwis suffered a late blow on Wednesday when left arm seamer James Franklin was ruled out with a groin strain and replaced by Kyle Mills who got the nod ahead of Ian Butler.

Bracewell said: "We want to have at least one swing bowler in the match as Brisbane is one of the few places in Australia where you get the opportunity to swing the ball.

"We are expecting the ball to swing and after our initial look at the wicket it looks dry and is already showing cracks along the length of the pitch which indicates that it might take turn towards the end of the match."

As expected, Australia named Brett Lee as 12th man after sticking with the same bowling combination of Glenn McGrath, Jason Gillespie, Michael Kasprowicz and Shane Warne that served them so well on their recent tour of India.

Australia captain Ricky Ponting said Lee had been cleared to leave the team later to play in the domestic competition to give him more game time and was not far from breaking back into the starting team.

"He's really knocking on the door now, he's fitter and stronger and lighter than he's ever been and that will translate into his performances on the field," Ponting said.

Warne missed the last test in India with a broken thumb but was immediately recalled while Darren Lehmann was also rushed back at the expense of Simon Katich, also injured in India.

Ponting is confident Lehmann will be in the right frame of mind to play despite giving evidence to a court hearing into the death of close friend and Victorian cricket coach David Hookes.

Teams:

Australia - Ricky Ponting (captain), Justin Langer, Matthew Hayden, Damien Martyn, Darren Lehmann, Michael Clark, Adam Gilchrist, Shane Warne, Jason Gillespie, Michael Kasprowicz, Glenn McGrath. Brett Lee (12th man).

New Zealand - Stephen Fleming (captain), Mark Richardson, Mathew Sinclair, Scott Styris, Nathan Astle, Craig McMillan, Jacob Oram, Brendon McCullum, Daniel Vettori, Kyle Mills, Chris Martin. Hamish Marshall (12th man).