Australian selectors have plumped for swing bowlers Chadd Sayers and Jackson Bird for next month’s two-Test tour of New Zealand.
South Australian Sayers, uncapped at international level, and Bird were included in a 14-man squad announced on Wednesday.

Express quick James Pattinson was also named despite lingering shin soreness, and Peter Siddle included despite an ankle complaint, for the series starting on February 12 in Wellington.

Sayers, 28, has been a prolific wicket-taker for the Redbacks in Sheffield Shield ranks and has claimed 145 first-class wickets at an average of 24.82.

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“We are delighted to welcome Chadd Sayers into the squad for the first time and his inclusion is thoroughly deserved,” chairman of selectors Rod Marsh said in a statement.

“Both he and Jackson Bird can swing the ball and operate at a lively pace and we believe both will be well suited to the conditions we are likely to encounter in New Zealand.

“We are hopeful James Pattinson will be able to overcome the shin soreness he has been suffering with and continue the fine form he showed in this summer’s Tests when he bowled at good pace, while Peter Siddle is on the verge of playing again following the ankle injury he suffered during the West Indies series.”

Siddle hasn’t played since being injured in the Boxing Day Test against West Indies but is expected to feature in the next Sheffield Shield round starting February 3.

Selectors stuck with the current batch of Test batsmen, with Shaun Marsh likely to again be the spare batsman following Usman Khawaja’s return from injury.

Australia can reclaim the mantle as the No.1 Test-playing nation with a series win against the Kiwis, which will be their skipper Brendon McCullum’s swansong.

“We know that New Zealand is going to come hard at us, that their players will want some form of pay-back for the Test series loss suffered in the series we played in this country late last year,” Marsh said.

“And that they will want to give captain Brendon McCullum a send-off into international retirement with a series win.

“The fact that we can move back to the top of the ICC rankings if we win the series is an added incentive for us.”

Squad: Steve Smith (capt) David Warner (vice-capt), Joe Burns, Usman Khawaja, Adam Voges, Mitchell Marsh, Peter Nevill, James Pattinson, Peter Siddle, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon, Jackson Bird, Shaun Marsh, Chadd Sayers.