Joe Mennie named as shock inclusion for Australia's first Test against South Africa

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.

"I was very shocked actually," Mennie told reporters in Adelaide on Monday. "I got the call from Rod Marsh and I didn't know what to say, there was a bit of silence on both ends from us. It was something I didn't see coming and something I'm very happy with and looking forward to."

Mennie was the leading wicket-taker in the Shield last season with 51 at 21. Like Bird, Mennie is not an express-paced quick and relies instead on accuracy.

Perhaps the most surprising thing for Mennie is that his chance has arrived in one-day cricket, which has not been his strongest format. Last summer in the Matador Cup, Mennie picked up seven wickets at 50.85 and conceded more than five an over, while he topped the wickets tally in the Sheffield Shield. However, he believes the call-up has come at the best possible time.

Mennie, 27, was low down the pecking order of Australian quicks but the depth of the country's fast bowling stocks is being tested with injuries to rising stars Pat Cummins, James Pattinson and Nathan Coulter-Nile ruling them out of longer-form cricket. Mennie is one of three uncapped fast bowlers picked in the ODI squad, along with his South Australia team-mate Daniel Worrall and Victoria's Chris Tremain. The trio have been performing well for the Australia A cricket team over the past few weeks in Queensland. With Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood rested up for the South Africa tour, spaces have opened up for fresh faces.

Although Mennie does not possess the sheer pace preferred by Australia's selectors -- he tends to operate around the 130kph mark -- his consistency and accuracy have been key features of his game over the past few seasons. At least his record in South Africa is encouraging, if brief: five wickets at 14.60 for the Perth Scorchers during the 2012 Champions League T20.

Mennie left NSW for South Australia in 2011 for more opportunities, aware he would struggle to get regular first-class games behind the likes of Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Cummins and Doug Bollinger. It is a move that is on the verge of paying huge dividends, with Mennie now on the cusp of wearing the baggy green. Stepping up to international cricket will be a different challenge for Mennie, who will find himself competing with Worrall, Tremain, John Hastings and Scott Boland for the positions as specialist fast men during the South African trip.

"That's the next test for me, going over and putting what I do well into practice in that next level," Mennie said. "That's where a lot of people come undone. That's the next challenge for me. It's about me performing and doing what I do."