Joe Mennie, the man who was taken for 82 on ODI debut against South Africa this month, has been included in their Test squad.

Backing him up, however, will be the usual suspects Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Peter Siddle — although only three are likely to play in the opening match of the series in Perth.

Mennie takes the place of Jackson Bird, who had been viewed as a likely inclusion in the squad after returns of 3-75 and 3-59 in Tasmania’s Shield match against Victoria at the MCG.

Head of selectors Rod Marsh said Mennie’s selection was a ‘just reward for effort. He is a dead-set professional length bowler. Batters don’t like bowlers who bowl a good length’.

He can also bat, and Marsh admitted that what cost Bird was his failure to add runs down the order.

Shaun Marsh has been included, despite an ongoing hamstring problem, at the expense of Joe Burns.

‘He got 73 and 110 in the Shield game and he was running threes and fours,’ said the selector. ‘If his hamstring had been 100 per cent he could have run fives and sevens.’

The first Test begins at the WACA ground on 3 November.

Test squad: David Warner, Shaun Marsh, Usman Khawaja, Steven Smith (c), Adam Voges, Mitchell Marsh, Peter Nevill (wk), Mitchell Starc, Peter Siddle, Joe Mennie, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon.

Photo: Samuel Shivambu/BackpagePix