Bollinger confident of playing in Sydney Test

Sydney, Dec 31 : Fast bowler Doug Bollinger feels that local knowledge of the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) may give him an edge over Tasmanian rival Ben Hilfenhaus and enable him to make the final eleven in the third Test against South Africa starting here Saturday.

The 27-year-old Bollinger from New South Wales (NSW) was selected in the 12-man national squad Tuesday morning to replace injured strike bowler Brett Lee. He has a strong chance of finally making his Test debut given his brilliant record at the SCG.

In his last match at the ground, for NSW against South Australia in the Sheffield Shield, the inswinging left-arm paceman recorded career-best figures of 6-47.

Bollinger is reluctant to assume he will play in Sydney, after touring with the national side to the West Indies and India this year without getting a game.

Though he is not assuming that he will get a chance to play the Test, he believes he can prevent South Africa from having a 3-0 whitewash.

"I'd like to be. I hope I will be, if I happen to play, if I get the opportunity at the SCG," Bollinger was quoted as saying by The Australian.

He toured West Indies and India with the Australian team but didn't play a match.

"I think I have bowled well there (SCG) the last couple of years. Coming back from India I think I was searching a bit for wickets early in the season but I think I am bowling well now and the six-for was the icing on the cake," he said.

He was mowing his lawn when Cricket Australia (CA) official Michael Brown called him up to break the news of his selection.

"Then I washed the car," the fast bowler said. "I was trying to get on with it, not think about it too much. You can put yourself on a pedestal waiting for the call and when it doesn't come it's very disappointing. I just tried to keep my mind busy."

"I can't wait to get among the guys. I am just going to play my own natural game and go from there. I find the SCG is a good place to bowl. I try to bowl as straight as I can and it goes Irish there a bit," Bollinger said.

Despite missing out on the two tours earlier this year, Bollinger said he had learned much from the players and coaches and was confident he could slot into the team quickly.

"I got a lot of work out of Troy Cooley and Tim Nielsen, even the players. I got along well with Mike Hussey and 'Pup' (Michael Clarke). I tried to squeeze as much out of it as I could," he said.

--IANS