Ponting: We need Tait for Ashes | Thebigtip

From The Australian
Ricky Ponting hopes to entice speedster Shaun Tait back to Test cricket.

This follows the South Australian's impact in injecting new zest into Australia's injury-depleted one-day side in England.

One of the fastest bowlers in the world, Tait has not played a first-class game since 2008 after struggling with physical and mental exhaustion and he announced last year that he was giving up four-day and five-day cricket to concentrate on the shorter formats.

But the late drafting of the 27-year-old into the ODI side to replace injured spinner Nathan Hauritz has added a new level of menace and life to the attack, leading Australia's captain to say he would try to talk Tait into returning to first-class cricket.

"I will be talking to him about that, yeah," Ponting said after his squad's improvement continued with a 78-run victory over England at The Oval to prevent a 5-0 series whitewash by England. "I'm sure a few of our boys will be having a whisper in his (Tait's) ear over the next few weeks."

Although he has been injury-prone and his bowling has often been erratic, Tait is valued by his teammates for being able to shake up even the most confident of batsmen.

Continue Reading