Jayawardene not worried about Hogg's form

Mahela Jayawardene has played down Brad Hogg as a potential Test threat as Australia's selectors prepare to choose the team for the first Test at the Gabba. Hogg has been in one-day mode all year but returned to first-class cricket with eight wickets in a Man-of-the-Match effort for Western Australia against Victoria.

Jayawardene said Hogg's success in ODI cricket - he has 144 wickets at 26.76 - could not be seen as an indication of how he would perform if chosen ahead of Stuart MacGill in the Test team. "That's mainly because in the one-day game you're trying to play a lot of shots against him and create more opportunities," Jayawardene told the Australian.

"That's when he's pretty aggressive because of his variation, but in the long version you probably have much more time. If you're patient enough I'm sure he'll drop a few loose ones to you so you can help yourself."

Jayawardene said Hogg was probably one of the top ten spinners in the world but he was most dangerous in limited-overs games. "He's a decent spinner," Jayawardene said. "But how you play Hoggy in one-day cricket and how you play Hoggy in Test cricket is going to be totally different."

Hogg bowled 31.3 overs in two innings and grabbed 8 for 83 as Western Australia beat Victoria in a match that finished at the MCG on Monday. He gave the batsmen few if any loose balls and said it was easy to make the switch back to the longer form of the game. "You can't really think about it, you just try and keep it on a good length and try and keep it tight and let the rest do the business," Hogg said.

On Thursday Australia will announce their squad for the Brisbane Test that begins the following Thursday. MacGill was thought to be Shane Warne's natural replacement but his flat performance in a Pura Cup match at the SCG - he had match figures of 4 for 280 from 55 overs - and Hogg's success has created renewed interest in the slow-bowling position.