RONCHI TO REPLACE BRAD HADDIN FOR T20

Australian wicketkeeper Luke Ronchi has earned himself a surprise call-up into the squad on Friday, two days ahead of the first Twenty20 International against the Proteas, as a replacement glovesman to Brad Haddin. The Australian squad for the Twenty20 Internationals and one day internationals was announced yesterday and Luke Ronchi did not feature on that list. However, the Australian selectors have decided otherwise and have called in Ronchi, mainly as they will be assessing the workload on Haddin who has played back-to-back Tests in the last few months against India, New Zealand and South Africa. Both wicketkeepers participated in Australia’s light practice session Friday morning. Michael Hussey was the only absentee from the session after having caught a stomach bug. However the star batsman is expected to be fit in time for Sunday’s encounter. Ronchi, who has been known for his quick scoring, will be hoping to get a look-in for the first of two Twenty20 Internationals which will be played on Sunday at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Haddin had an unsuccessful tour to India where the number one Test team in the world lost to the Indians 2-0. However the wicketkeeper bounced back with admirable individual performances against New Zealand and South Africa at home. Ronchi, in the meanwhile, has been consistently impressive in the domestic circuits. He has also put up good performances at the international level as and when he got the opportunity. 

Earlier this year, when Haddin injured his finger while playing against the West Indies, Ronchi took over as glovesman for the team in the ODIs where he scored the third fastest half-century by an Australian which came of just 22 balls at St.Kitts. His performances behind the wickets have been equally spectacular.