Australia to assess bowling options

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With rib-injury victim Brett Lee yet to bowl since the start of the npower series - which England lead 1-0 - and Mitchell Johnson struggling for form, there will be a chance for experienced seamer Stuart Clark to stake a claim for a third Test place.

"He's very much in the mix," said coach Tim Nielsen, of Clark's hopes of returning for the third Test at Edgbaston. "He was considered for this past Test match, we just thought when we saw the wicket that we needed to play the spinner, and the three fast bowlers who had done a good job in Cardiff."

The Australians face Northamptonshire in a three-day match, starting this Friday, and Clark, the leading wicket-taker in the 2006-07 Ashes, is set to feature.

Australia hope to include Lee and Johnson alongside him but that will depend on state of side and state of mind respectively as the backroom staff work on fitness and techniques.

Nielsen added: "Everyone in the touring party is in the mix to play each Test.

"That's why we selected him in the squad, we can't fit 16 into 11, we need to pick what is the best balance for the conditions that we face.

"We need to pick a bowling group that complement each other well so that Ricky Ponting can start to bowl them in partnerships, use them in pairs, bowl somebody against a specific batsmen if he wants to, and try to get some match-ups right as we go forward."