Glenn McGrath will miss this week's fifth and final Test against England at Sydney with a side strain. McGrath's remarkable run of 54 consecutive Tests – unprecedented for a modern fast bowler – is finally at an end. Brad Williams is his replacement in the squad, with another Brad, the slow left-armer Hogg, has also been called up on a pitch that usually favours the spinners.

"I knew I was a chance of not playing but once you find out you won't play it hits you harder than you realise," McGrath said. "I guess it's a question of looking at the bigger picture as I did something similar in 1992, played on with it, and reckon I was eventually sidelined for three or four months.

"It's now a case of getting things right for the rest of the summer as we've plenty of cricket left to play. I've always prided myself on my longevity and I would have liked to haveplayed more Tests in a row but the number of successive matches I've managed isn't bad for a fast bowler."

With Australia looking for the first Ashes whitewash in 82 years, McGrath may well be replaced by Hogg, who has been recalled to the Test squad after an absence of more than six years. Hogg, who took one wicket in his solitary Test at Delhi in 1996-97, returned to international action last week against Sri Lanka in the VB Series.

Sydney is a surface that traditionally favours the slow bowlers – Stuart MacGill took 12 wickets against England here four years ago - and Hogg collected three wickets there for Australia A against an England XI last month.

"With Brad's selection we now have the option of playing a second spinner in Sydney should we decide to go that way," said Trevor Hohns, Australia's chairman of selectors. "We still have a few days to decide on the eventual make-up of the team but the key to this selection is to create some flexibility, which we now have.

"Brad has performed well in international matches this season, whether it be for Australia or Australia A. If he is selected in the Test XI he will provide us with not just a second spinner, but also a useful batsman and versatile player in the field."

Australian squad 1 Justin Langer, 2 Matthew Hayden, 3 Ricky Ponting, 4 Damien Martyn, 5 Steve Waugh (capt), 6 Martin Love, 7 Adam Gilchrist (wk), 8 Brett Lee, 9 Jason Gillespie, 10 Stuart MacGill, 11 Brad Williams, 12 Andrew Bichel, 13 Brad Hogg

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