Gilchrist and Gillespie ruled out of Hobart game

Adam Gilchrist and Jason Gillespie have been ruled out of Australia's second match of the VB Series, against Pakistan at Hobart on January 16, because of injury. Gilchrist suffered a minor injury to his left knee while Gillespie had some trouble with his right calf muscle. Brad Haddin, the New South Wales wicketkeeper, will replace Gilchrist for the Hobart game.

Gilchrist, though, was expected to be available for Australia's third match of the series against the West Indies at Brisbane on January 21. Errol Alcott, the team physiotherapist, said: "Adam alerted me to the pain after last night's match. We had some diagnostic scans taken earlier today [January 14] which revealed some soft tissue irritation and swelling. He won't take part in the match in Hobart, but he is expected to be right for the next match in Brisbane." However, Gilchrist will remain with the squad to receive physiotherapy.

Gillespie's injury was a bit more serious and his condition will be reviewed in the lead-up to the Brisbane game. Meanwhile Simon Katich, who missed the first match at the MCG, had recovered from a throat infection and will be available for the second game.

After a spectacular 129 against the Pakistanis in a warm-up game, Haddin was confident of cashing in when the going was good. "It's always good going into a game knowing that you've got runs previously against a team," Haddin told AAP. "So I'm pretty confident going into the match and I'm really just looking forward to this one knowing I have been playing well and I am in good form."

He was also open to the possibility of opening the innings. "If the opportunity comes to open then I'd obviously love doing that, if it doesn't, I'm a wicketkeeper first, so I'm just happy to get a chance with the gloves."

This will also be the first time in this season that Brett Lee and Shoaib Akhtar will go head-to-head but both have played it down considerably. "There is always talk when myself and Shoaib get the chance to play against each other," Lee said. "But the most important thing I've said time and time again is, it's not just speed, it's about taking wickets and doing well for your team. It's important that I do bowl quick, which is my role, but surely if I'm bowling the 150s (kph) and bowling a few outswingers and hopefully bowling that right line and length, well then the team should be pretty happy with that."

Lee was glad that he grabbed the opportunity against West Indies at the MCG and looked ahead to the Hobart clash. "Jason has got a sore calf, which is not a good thing, but it gives me the chance to get back into the side and I'll hopefully do well."