Brisbane braced for Twenty20
The first international Twenty20 in Australia is set to get underway at Brisbane on Monday, as the home side host South Africa ahead of the one-day series
Cricinfo staff
08-Jan-2006
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Only three members remain of the victorious Test side which beat South Africa 2-0 in the recent series - Glenn McGrath, Adam Gilchrist and Brett Lee - will be rested and replaced by Stuart Clark, Mick Lewis and Mitchell Johnson. Mike Hussey, who batted brilliantly in the Tests, replaces Gilchrist as Australia's vice-captain and is keen on gaining the upper hand over the tourists:
"We want a psychological advantage over South Africa into the one-day series," he told BBC Sport. "With Twenty20 you can't really plan a good strategy. You've got to think on your feet as much as possible. Players have different innovative shots and I guess you've just got to react to that as quickly as you can."
Justin Kemp, who missed two Tests with a shoulder injury and Andre Nel, who sustained a foot injury in Sydney are on the sidelines, and join Jacques Kallis who is suffering from an elbow injury. Johan Botha, whose bowling action has been reported, has been included in the squad.
Despite a poor forecast, vast crowds are expected to fill the stadium - which holds 37,000 people - with just 2,000 tickets left unsold on the eve of the game. Australia's domestic Twenty20 competition got underway on Friday and continued on Sunday, where more than 8,000 people watched Victoria beat South Australia to reach the final.