Australia all-rounder Shane Watson believes the call-up of Michael Hussey is "brilliant" news for the defending champions as they chase a fourth straight World Cup title and fifth in all.
Veteran batsman Hussey, 35, was named in Australia's original 15-man squad but then dropped because of a hamstring injury that needed surgery.
However, he has since recovered and the Western Australia left-hander has got his chance after being summoned to the sub-continent as a replacement for injured fast bowler Doug Bollinger.
Hussey's inclusion will bolster Australia's ability to play spin bowling and he is also a noted 'finisher' of a one-day innings, being particularly adept at rebuilding following the loss of early wickets.
"It's brilliant," said Watson on Tuesday. "I was hoping Mike would come over.
"It's going to give us a huge boost to have someone of his calibre flying in to be a part of our squad and with a very big chance of playing immediately as well."
Hussey was due to join the squad late on Tuesday local time.
Australia have had to endure an extraordinary schedule at this World Cup, being co-hosted by India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
They had to wait eight days to play Sri Lanka last weekend, only for the match to be a no-result washout, and now face a seven-day break before facing Kenya at Bangalore's Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday.
But they then return to the same ground three days later to take on Canada.
"That's the disappointing thing about the last game, that it got washed out and now we've got another week to wait," opening batsman and medium-pacer Watson added. "We're having to fill in the time again."
One consolation for Watson is he has been joined by his wife, Lee Furlong, a presenter with the Australian television channel Fox Sports.
"It definitely makes a difference to the days when women weren't on tour as much. It makes balancing your life a bit easier."
With few members of Australia's middle-order having spent much time in the middle so far, skipper Ricky Ponting may be tempted to alter his batting order for games against group makeweights Kenya and Canada.
"I've thought about that for the last couple of days actually, but I'm not exactly sure if they (the management) have got anything in mind," Watson said.
"They haven't talked to me about it. We've just got to make sure that everyone is in the best place possible going into the quarterfinals.
"I suppose it could be like our match against Ireland in the 2007 World Cup when Mike Hussey opened the batting and Andrew Symonds batted at three to give him a chance of getting some time in the middle."
Many pundits have predicted this World Cup could be the one that ends Australia's reign as champions but Watson said: "The more I've seen throughout this tournament so far, the more confident I am we've got the team to, at our best, go on to win this tournament.”
