Haddin ready for Ashes role after injury

Sydney:

Wicketkeeper Brad Haddin said on Thursday he will have enough cricket opportunities to regain his place in the Australian team for the Ashes series against England after recovering from an elbow injury.

Haddin has not played since the World T20 final against England in Barbados last May.

Haddin, 32, missed Australia's matches against Pakistan in England and the current tour of India because of an elbow tendon injury, but said he is confident of proving his fitness in match conditions.

"There's quite a lot of games leading up to the Ashes so from a workload point-of-view I'm not too concerned about the amount of cricket I'm going to get," Haddin told reporters.

"There's definitely enough cricket heading into the Ashes."

Haddin is planning on playing a Sydney club game this weekend before leading New South Wales against Victoria in a second XI match next week.

Australia open their international season at home with a T20 game against Sri Lanka in Perth on October 31 ahead of the five-Test Ashes series against England, getting underway in Brisbane on November 25.

Haddin said he is confident his elbow will withstand the rigours of regular cricket following his four-month break.

"It's a relief, it's obviously been a long time out of the game, so I'm actually looking forward to having a bit of a hit on Saturday and at this stage everything is going in the right direction," he said.