The new guy: who is Alex Doolan?

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ALEX Doolan was leaving Melbourne Renegades training on Sunday night when John Inverarity's name flashed up on his mobile phone.

The national chairman of selectors was ringing to inform the elegant Tasmanian batsman that he had been included in Australia's 14-man squad for the fifth Ashes Test.

"It was a big thrill last night to get the phone call,'' Doolan said. "I was a little bit stunned, still am a little bit stunned."

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It set in motion a frantic 24 hours for the 28-year-old right-hander. He fronted the media on Monday morning, turned out for the Renegades in a Big Bash match against Brisbane Heat that evening and booked a Tuesday morning flight home to Hobart to pack his bags in preparation for the SCG.

"I'll fly home and collect all my gear, my bats and pads, and head up to Sydney after that. Get back into the red ball stuff and make sure I'm sharp for that," Doolan said.

"I don't have any of my white pads or my red-ball bats with me, so I need to go home, without trusting my fiancé (Laura) to get everything ready for me. I think it's better that I go home and collect it myself."

Asked how his red-ball bats were different to the blades he wielded in Twenty20 cricket, Doolan, a self-confessed "bat nuffie" joked that they were "an extra foot wide''.

"It's a bit silly, but my best bats I like to use for four-day cricket," he said. "And then for Twenty20 cricket I use the other bats because they get bashed up so quickly and break. So I want to prolong the life of my good ones."

Doolan is something of a cricket purist, a top-order batsman whose stylish and upright technique has drawn comparisons to former Australia captain Greg Chappell. He was in contention for a Baggy Green at the start of this series, having scored 715 Sheffield Shield runs at 42.05 last summer, as well as an unbeaten 161 for Australia A against South Africa at the SCG.

This season he has scored 391 Shield runs at 39.10, including an impressive 132 in a successful run chase against New South Wales at Blacktown Oval in November.

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Australian batting coach, Michael DiVenuto, described Doolan as a fine young batsman who had begun to believe in himself over the past 18 months.

"I think he benefitted greatly last year from having Ricky Ponting around at Tasmania quite a bit and learnt a lot from being up the other end with him,'' DiVenuto said. "He was involved in a few partnerships with him and matched it with him quite a few times and I think that is where he got his belief that he is a very good player."

Doolan agreed that Ponting had been "a huge influence'', as had former Tasmanian coach Tim Coyle.

"(Ponting) is just a determined little monster when he's playing. That's probably what I got out of it ... He just tried to instil the belief in me, firstly that I did believe I was a good player and could do it, and to not be satisfied with anything you've done.

"I think there's a difference between belonging (at first-class level) and wanting to dominate and contribute in every game. I've probably felt that I belonged at the level for a while, but probably had been happy just belonging and not wanting to be one of the best players in the competition. And that's probably one of the differences for me, after having chats with Ricky, that I wanted to play for Australia.

"It hadn't really been a goal or an ambition of mine, I hadn't set goals in place to play for Australia. Once he spoke to me and told me that he thought I was good enough to do it, that's what I wanted to do."

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Doolan said it was exciting to be acknowledged by the selectors and to be involved with the Test team, but felt he was in the squad as a back-up No.3 batsman if Watson was unavailable through injury. He believed his Tasmanian skipper, George Bailey, was a "reliable and dependable" batsman who deserved more chances to establish himself in the Australian middle order.

"I guess No.3 is probably where I'm best suited, however I've had most of the season batting at four for Tassie," Doolan said. "But if I got an opportunity I'd bat at 11. I'm happy wherever."

THE KEY FACTS

Age: 28

Hometown: Launceston, Tasmania

Role: Right-hand batsman, preferably No.3

THE STATS

First-class debut: January 2009 (for Tasmania v New South Wales)

First-class matches: 53

Runs: 3,375

Average: 37.92 (39.10 in 2013-14)

Highest score: 161 n.o. (for Australia A v South Africa, 2012)

WHAT THEY SAID

Ricky Ponting

"I played a lot with Doolan last year and he's a class player.

"He elevated his game to a new level last year, and hopefully he can start the season the same way this year.

"He's got class, time, a simple technique, and is a good striker of the ball. He keeps things simple.

"When I've batted with him, you can just see he's got that little bit of time on his side. He never seems rushed, and that's always a sign of a good player."

Greg Chappell

"Alex is an exquisite player with an ability to play classic cricket shots off both the front and back foot.

"His game has evolved well over the last few years and is a key player for Tasmania in both one day and four-day cricket."

Michael Clarke (after Doolan led Tasmania to victory against NSW in November)

"He played very well, that was a fantastic innings no doubt about it, and played a huge part in getting Tasmania home so deserves a lot of credit.

"I thought he batted with great patience but played his natural game.

"He played a really good innings but he helped his team win batting on a fourth day wicket.

"To play with so much freedom and the patience he showed has certainly done him a lot of favours I would imagine."