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Edgbaston: Aussies skipper Ricky Ponting has said there was no question of dropping left-arm fast bowler Mitchell Johnson from the team for the third Test against England, and added he and the selectors had never discussed such a possibility.
Oz looks set to hold its nerve and gamble the Ashes on Johnson finding the form that has deserted him on tour.
With the Edgbaston pitch drier than Ponting expected, spinner Nathan Hauritz will play in the test that begins from today.
According to the Mritish Media, Australia may pick an unchanged side, despite playing some dreadful cricket to lose at Lord's.
If there were to be a change, it would appear to be the more accurate Stuart Clark replacing Peter Siddle.
Ponting, who needs 25 runs to break Allan Border's Australian run record of 11,174, said he was far more concerned about his bowlers than personal milestones.
"Hopefully it comes in the first innings of this game, so we can put that behind us and worry about the other stuff," he said yesterday.
As far as Johnson was concerned, Ponting said: "We'll probably look at using him in a slightly different way to the first couple of games. We''ll probably use him as a real strike, impact sort of bowler."
"He had the ability to strike for us. He's taken eight wickets in the two games, so that part of his game's still there. We've just got to look at using him in different ways," Ponting said.
