IF the hat fits wear a smile ... Ricky Ponting with his wife Rianna and daughter Emmy yesterday
The squad, to be announced in Sydney today, is set to be expanded to 16 players despite selection boss Andrew Hilditch claiming for months that 15 was his preferred number.
South Australian Manou, who was last week elevated to Cricket Australia's elite 25-man contract list, was last night in the box seat to snare the last spot as a backup to Brad Haddin.
Fringe batsman Hodge appears to be in a three-way shootout for two squad positions with allrounders Andrew McDonald and Shane Watson.
Watson is firmly in Ashes contention but if selectors are worried about his body he may be picked as a back-up batsman rather than an allrounder.
Ponting yesterday claimed troubled allrounder Andrew Symonds was still in the Ashes mix and insisted he would not be surprised if he were selected.
Nathan Hauritz is set to be the only frontline spinner chosen, although Marcus North will provide an extra option as a spinning allrounder.
"I think the cards were laid on the table the other day with spinners not getting contracted, that's one that will look after itself," Ponting said.
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