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Australia stick with three quicks in Cardiff

Shane Watson gets the nod over Mitch Marsh as Australia lose the toss and will bowl first

LIVE COVERAGE: ENGLAND v AUSTRALIA 1st Test 

Australia has resisted the temptation to play four fast bowlers and opted to stick with allrounder Shane Watson ahead of his young challenger Mitchell Marsh for today's opening Ashes Test in Cardiff.

Watson's position had appeared in jeopardy after Marsh peeled off consecutive centuries in Australia's warm-up matches against Kent and Essex, and bowled with good pace in capturing a couple of wickets in each of those hit-outs.

Video: Marsh's sizzling Essex century

But despite the fact 34-year-old Watson did not bowl against Kent and sent down just six overs against Essex, he has also shown strong batting form with half centuries in both fixtures.

In the final analysis, it would seem Watson's greater experience in English conditions, a batting technique tightened by years as a Test opener and a capacity to bowl tightly as well as swing the ball both conventionally and reverse ensured he maintained his place in the middle-order.

Marsh, who made his Test debut against Pakistan in the UAE last October and played the first two matches against India in Australia last summer before suffering a hamstring injury, will have a further chance to push his claim in a warm-up match at Derby between the second and third Tests.

Captain Michael Clarke had also indicated on Monday that the sight of a heavily grassed Welsh wicket might tempt the national selectors to opt for an extra quick at the expense of spinner Nathan Lyon, and even lead the rival skippers to consider bowling first should the coin land in their favour.

But when a bulk of the grass cover was removed on match eve to reveal a pitch that carried a tinge of green on the surface but was noticeably dry underneath, the selectors chose to retain the pace attack of Mitchell Johnson, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood complemented by Watson and Lyon.

The only change to Australia's XI from their most recent Test against the West Indies in Jamaica last month was the return of opener Chris Rogers who missed both matches in the Caribbean due to concussion, at the expense of Shaun Marsh.

The older Marsh brother has felt the cold brush of the selectors' pen for the third time in his 14-match Test career despite having been part of the starting line-up for the previous five Tests in which time he's averaged more than 40 without posting a century.

While he initially returned to the Test XI as a middle-order replacement for Clarke after the captain sustained a serious hamstring injury he was promoted to opener to cover Rogers' absence.

Video: Voges has a debut to savour

That allowed his Western Australia teammate Adam Voges to slot in at number five against the West Indies where he scored a century on debut in Dominica and thereby grasped the opportunity to gain a start in his first Ashes Test at the age of 35.

England named an unchanged line-up from the team that drew the recent Test series against New Zealand 1-1, with pace bowler Mark Wood handed his first Ashes cap ahead of fellow quick Steve Finn who has surged back into Test calculations after being deemed 'unselectable' on England's disastrous 2013-14 Ashes tour of Australia.

England: Alastair Cook (c), Adam Lyth, Gary Ballance, Ian Bell, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Moeen Ali, Stuart Broad, Mark Wood, James Anderson.

Australia: David Warner, Chris Rogers, Steve Smith, Michael Clarke (c), Adam Voges, Shane Watson, Brad Haddin (wk), Mitchell Johnson, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon. 

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