Watson to replace injured Marsh

Shane Watson's rest has been cut short after he was called back into Australia's squad for Sunday's ODI against West Indies to replace the injured Shaun Marsh. Watson will open at the Gabba as Australia aim to win the series following Friday's wash-out in Sydney, a game that didn't feature Marsh after he suffered a back problem shortly before the toss.

Marsh will head straight to Melbourne, where Australia have the Allan Border Medal ceremony on Monday night followed by the fifth ODI on Friday. Alex Kountouris, the team physio, said Marsh would be assessed next week to determine whether he would be fit for Friday's game.

"Shaun injured his back during the pre-game warm-up before yesterday's ODI at the SCG," Kountouris said. "With a short turnaround before the next match in Brisbane, it was decided that the best course of action was for Shaun to miss tomorrow's match."

That has meant an unplanned trip to Brisbane for Watson, who was initially given a break for the two matches over this weekend. Andrew Hilditch, the chairman of selectors, said a lack of openers in the squad - Adam Voges was tried in the role on Friday and struggled - contributed to their decision to recall Watson.

"While it was initially planned for Shane to miss games three and four of the Commonwealth Bank Series, it was decided that with potential opening batsman Brad Haddin currently having his workload managed, the best course of action for the balance of the squad was to bring Shane back one game early," Hilditch said. "With James Hopes in the squad, we'll also be able to actively manage Shane's bowling workload if required at the Gabba."

Australia squad Shane Watson, Tim Paine (wk), Ricky Ponting (capt), Michael Clarke, Cameron White, Michael Hussey, Adam Voges, James Hopes, Mitchell Johnson, Ryan Harris, Nathan Hauritz, Clint McKay, Doug Bollinger.