Sydney, 2 January - New South Wales (NSW) spinner Stephen O'Keefe was on Saturday called in to Australia's XI for the third cricket Test against the West Indies at the Sydney Cricket Ground starting on Sunday.

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O'Keefe replaces Victorian pacer Peter Siddle who is still nursing an ankle injury he sustained in the first Test.

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It is the only change that the Australians have made to the Boxing Day Test XI that beat the West Indies by 177 runs in Melbourne.

"Peter Siddle felt it wasn't best for him to come into this Test match the way he is at the moment. He is still a little bit sore. He'll have a rest for a couple of weeks and hopefully get himself right for (the upcoming tour of) New Zealand," captain Steve Smith was quoted as saying by a sports website on Saturday.

"He's a great team man and felt he would be letting the team down (if he played). We were probably going to go the two spinners option anyway."

Smith expects the pitch to turn, noting the wicket "looks quite dry"."So I think it'll take some spin," the captain said.

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Saurabh Sharma
Saurabh Sharma is the Editorial Head of Cricketnmore Hindi and a passionate cricket journalist with over 14 years of experience in sports media. He began his journalism career with Navbharat Times, part of the Times of India Group, before moving to television media with Sadhna News. In 2014, he joined Cricketnmore and currently serves as the editor of the platform.
Known for his deep understanding of cricket statistics and unique storytelling approach, Saurabh specializes in cricket news, match analysis, records, and feature stories. Along with editorial responsibilities, he also works as a show producer for popular cricket video series such as Cricket Tales, Cricket Flashback, and Cricket Trivia. Read More
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