Siddle overlooked for Gabba opener

Peter Siddle has been named 12th man for the Gabba Test against New Zealand with Josh Hazlewood to resume his place in the starting XI.

Hazlewood was omitted from Australia's last Test, the fifth and final Ashes match at The Oval in London, with Siddle starring with six wickets in the match.

Australia captain Steve Smith confirmed the XI at his captain's press conference on the eve of the opening Commonwealth Bank Test against the Black Caps.

New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum confirmed his own XI, with Doug Bracewell, the hero of the Black Caps' victory in Hobart in 2011, filling the third seamer's spot over tall quick Matt Henry. 

"It was a bit of a coin toss with them but we were comfortable either way," McCullum said on Wednesday.

"They're both very similar bowlers. "We just thought Doug was bowling a touch better at this time."

Allrounder James Neesham will bat at No.6 with Corey Anderson unavailable with a back injury while wicketkeeper BJ Watling holds his place over Luke Ronchi at No.7.

Siddle took six wickets in his highly-talked about return to Test cricket, with figures of 2-32 and 4-35 in Australia's innings and 46-run victory with a performance that made a mockery of critics who had questioned the veteran Victorian paceman's inclusion.

The quick had feared his international career was over when sidelined for the Tests at Cardiff, Lord's, Edgbaston and Trent Bridge – having not played since the first Test of last summer against India in Adelaide – and made the most of his unexpected opportunity at The Oval.

Siddle sits on 198 Test wickets and the Victorian will remain hopeful of becoming just the 15th Australian to reach the 200 club.

For Hazlewood, his return comes at the venue where a year ago he made his Test debut, handed his Baggy Green cap by fast-bowling idol Glenn McGrath.

Hazlewood brings with him a rejuvenated body and a mind broadened by the stinging criticism that comes with an unsuccessful Ashes campaign.

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Siddle was a stand-out performer at The Oval but Hazlewood’s extra pace and height coupled with clear memories of the five-wicket haul he claimed against India on debut in Brisbane last year edged him ahead in the Australian selectors' eyes.

The 24-year-old Hazlewood admitted this week that he was worn down by the workload and the public expectation that came with the five-Test Ashes tour of the UK and that he developed "a few bad habits" as he strained to arrest the slide that the Australians experienced in the decisive third and fourth Tests.

Given the impact the strapping country lad made on Test cricket and the speed with which he embraced the game’s most demanding format, it was easy to overlook the comparative infancy of his career as he and more experienced Mitchell Johnson and Mitchell Starc struggled to contain England’s batsmen.

And Hazlewood concedes that he had grown weary of body and clouded of mind by the time he was rested from the final Test for reasons formally given as ‘shin soreness’.

"It was obviously my longest run in a row in first-class cricket, let alone Test cricket and I think physically it probably got the better of me toward the back end of the (Ashes) series and my bowling probably showed that," he said this week.

"(I was) a little bit inconsistent, so I think I took a lot out of it for next time and for this summer as well with six Tests coming up (against NZ and the West Indies), just to be more consistent

"The added pressure of an Ashes series, it is quite tough mentally to be on tour for that long and to have the media and the public and the crowds at you all the time, it is just a step up the Ashes."

Australia: David Warner, Joe Burns, Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith (c), Adam Voges, Mitch Marsh, Peter Nevill (wk), Mitchell Johnson, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon, Peter Siddle (12th). 

New Zealand: Martin Guptill, Tom Latham, Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, Brendon McCullum (c),  Jimmy Neesham, BJ Watling (wk), Mark Craig, Doug Bracewell, Tim Southee, Trent Boult. Matt Henry (12th).