Tasmania's bid for a third one-day title in the space of five years has been given a boost by the inclusion of recently axed Australian team member Ricky Ponting.
Ponting was added to a squad of 13 by the Tigers on Wednesday ahead of their Ryobi Cup final against South Australia at Adelaide Oval on Saturday.
Tasmania chairman of selectors Michael Farrell said the playing group was buoyed to have arguably Australia's greatest ever limited overs batsman in their line-up that will do battle with the Redbacks.
"Ricky Ponting's inclusion injects world-class qualities into our team and we know that he is very excited at the prospect of playing in this final for Tasmania," Farrell said.
Ponting was given his marching orders on Monday by the national selection panel after managing only 18 runs from 66 balls in five innings during the Commonwealth Bank Series against India and Sri Lanka.
The decision to drop Ponting for the remainder of the triangular series effectively ended the former Australian skipper's glittering one-day career which saw him score 13,704 runs in 375 matches at an average of 42.03, including 30 centuries.
