Australia selectors gave skipper Ricky Ponting a rest and troubled all-rounder Andrew Symonds got a reprieve when the 14-man squad for the upcoming limited-overs series against Pakistan was announced on Wednesday. Injured paceman Brett Lee has also been granted a chance to push for a place in the Twenty20 World Cup and the Ashes series in England, fitness pending. Chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch said he agreed with a recommendation from team medical and coaching staff to give Ponting, bowling spearhead Mitchell Johnson and top-order batsman Mike Hussey a break after almost non-stop cricket since September. He wants them fresh for the English summer. Hilditch also wanted Symonds, Lee and often-injured all-rounder Shane Watson to have a chance to push for selection, based on prior form for Australia and not recent performances. The squad will be led by Michael Clarke in five limited-overs internationals and one Twenty20 International against Pakistan in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates.. Australia had declined to tour Pakistan even before the terror attack on the Sri Lankan Test team last month in Lahore that injured seven members of the touring party and left six police men and a driver dead. In the absence of Symonds and Watson, Andrew McDonald and Marcus North filled the all-rounders role in the Test lineup and helped Australia win the South Africa series 2-1 to retain the world No. 1 ranking. The Australians are still in South Africa, two matches into a five-match limited-overs series. Squad: Michael Clarke (captain), Brad Haddin, Nathan Bracken, Callum Ferguson, Brett Geeves, Nathan Hauritz, Ben Hilfenhaus, James Hopes, David Hussey, Ben Laughlin, Brett Lee, Shaun Marsh, Andrew Symonds, Shane Watson. Private security Private security bodyguards will be hired for the one-day series between Pakistan and Australia to be staged in the UAE, a Pakistan Cricket Board official said on Wednesday. “The security plan for the series is also now approved and we are coordinating with the authorities in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and also with the emirates cricket board to provide the best possible security for the series,” PCB chief operating officer Saleem Altaf told Reuters. Pakistan captain Younis Khan said he did not believe Australia would be weakened by the absence of captain Ricky Ponting and leading players Mike Hussey and Mitchell Johnson. “The Australians have a productive domestic system and this ensures they can overcome the absence of any player as they have shown in the past,” he told Reuters. “They won the 2003 World Cup even though Shane Warne had to pull out before the event because of a positive dope test. The only edge we have is they have played lot of cricket since last year and some of their players could be fatigued and not like the hard playing conditions in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.”
