

South Australia's Joe Mennie is a shock inclusion in the first Test squad for Australia against South Africa next week after being preferred to Jackson Bird.

Bird had been expected to be included in the 12-man squad for the match at the WACA as one of four fast bowlers alongside Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Peter Siddle.

However, the Tasmania seamer has been surprisingly overlooked for Mennie, who toured with the Australian one-day team that was beaten 5-0 in South Africa this month.

His promotion is a major surprise, particularly after a horror start to his international career where he yielded the figures of 0-82 off 10 overs - the worst return for an Australian on debut.