Australia delay decision on bowling combination

By John Mehaffey

CARDIFF (Reuters) - Australia will decide on their bowling combination for the first Ashes test against England starting on Wednesday (1000GMT) after studying pitch and ground conditions at their final practice session.

The Australians were forced on Tuesday to face life without fast bowler Brett Lee who was a certainty to return to the side following an injury break after ripping through the England Lions last week. Lee pulled out of the first test after a scan revealed a slight tear in his rib area.

"Brett obviously bowled beautifully last week and I think that everybody that saw him was impressed with what he did," captain Ricky Ponting told a news conference on Tuesday.

"It's a relatively minor injury and we haven't written him out of playing in the second test. We are all keeping our fingers crossed and hopefully he will back sooner rather than later."

Unsettled weather is predicted in Wales for the remainder of the week and there were a couple of showers on Tuesday morning before the Australians arrived at the ground for net practice.

Ponting said the selectors had not yet settled on an team but would discuss their options after practice and decide on Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning.

"We have a number of different ways we could go," he said.

By contrast, England captain Andrew Strauss said the home team had already decided on their final XI.