By IANS,
Sydney : Australian speedster Shaun Tait says he is raring to play against South Africa in Sunday’s Twenty20 opener in Melbourne.
The resurgent Tait was Thursday named in Australia’s 13-man squads for both the Twenty20 and one-day series against the Proteas.
Australia are ramping up their planning for the 2009 World Twenty20 and 2011 World Cup. Now back in the reckoning, Tait was relieved at his recall after being sidelined for a month with hamstring tendonitis.
“I am feeling fresh and over the moon, to be honest,” said Tait, who played his last one-day international in Dec 2007 ahead of a 10-month break from the game.
“I wasn’t sure what was going to happen with selection because of the injuries I’ve had,” Tait was quoted as saying in Daily Telegraph.
Australia’s 2007 World Cup enforcer believes it’s time to take up a senior role in a new-look attack and serve it up to the confident Proteas.
“The days have gone when I was the young fellow in the squad,” said Tait, who was restricted to four Shield games in 2008-09 and six one-day games, in which he has taken 12 wickets at 21.58.
Chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch conceded Tait’s preparation had not been ideal, but said he would benefit from limited-overs exposure ahead of a return to the Test format.
“He is an explosive weapon at his best and we hope he will play a key role in both forms of the game this summer,” Hilditch said.