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Australia replaces Langer with Martyn
BIRMINGHAM, England (AP) -- Australia axed Justin Langer and promoted the in-form Ricky Ponting to the no. 3 spot on Monday as the world champion prepared for its Ashes defense against England at Edgbaston on Thursday. The tourists named their side three days ahead of schedule while England is in disarray because of a series of injuries to key players. Langer's West Australian teammate Damien Martyn, who so far has hit three centuries in tour matches, will take the left-hander's place in the Australia side and will bat at number six. Poor form in the last 12 months led to Langer's downfall. He was only picked for the current tour after a lot of deliberation by the Australian selectors and Martyn felt for him. "I'm very happy, it's sort of a mixed emotions day because I'm very happy but one of my teammates is the other way, so it's a bit hard," Martyn 29, said. "He happens to be a good mate and a teammate and a West Australian. So a bit of both [emotions] at the moment but Thursday will be good, the nerves will be up and I'll get stuck into it. "Being a fringe player I've had to keep making runs and keep putting my name up there. So I've done a lot of hard work, been on a lot of tours and made runs, and finally a spot has come up. Hopefully I can do well starting in this first test." Langer has been dropped for the first time since winning a permanent place in the side during the 1998/99 tour of Pakistan under Mark Taylor's captaincy. He was a key member in Steve Waugh's record-breaking side and played in all the 16-consective wins before the series loss in India earlier this year. Langer's form suffered badly at home during the 5-0 series win over the West Indies and was carried over to India where he top scored with 58 in the second test in Calcutta. On the current tour he has managed scores of 4, 4, 0 and 17 against MCC and Essex in the lead up to the Ashes series. Meanwhile Martyn, who filled in for injured skipper Steve Waugh in the fourth test against the West Indies in December last year in the last of his 12 tests, started the tour with 108 against Worcestershire and finished with 114 not out and 46 not out against Essex on Sunday. Australia is seeking its seventh consecutive Ashes series win against England which has several injury worries. Graham Thorpe was ruled out on Monday with a lingering calf muscle injury and there are doubts about fellow batsman Michael Vaughan, allrounder Craig White and spin bowler Ashley Giles. Mark Ramprakash had been called into the squad as cover for Thorpe but then pulled out after aggravating a hamstring injury. The Australian team to face England in the first Test at Edgbaston, starting on July 5: Matthew Hayden, Michael Slater, Ricky Ponting, Mark Waugh, Steve Waugh (captain), Damien Martyn, Adam Gilchrist (wicket keeper), Shane Warne, Brett Lee, Jason Gillespie, Glenn McGrath. Twelfth man: Damien Fleming.
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