ED COWAN had planned to ''sink a few tinnies in bay 13'' at his best friend's buck's party on Boxing Day, but he'll now be on the other side of the MCG fence making his Test debut.

The 29-year-old opener will also miss the wedding, for which he was a groomsman, after being named in a 13-man squad for the first Test against India.

But the groom-to-be, Peter Sanders, whose buck's party is set to be more memorable than most, could not be happier for Cowan to be wearing the baggy green rather than joining his wedding party.

''It's a pretty decent excuse,'' said Sanders, 30, who is getting married in Sydney next Friday - the final day of the match.

''If they're chasing 200 on day five, they can knock them over quickly and make it for the wedding. He'll be there in spirit.''

When the party was planned during the winter, Cowan had appeared at long odds to force his way into the Test side. But his recent hot form and Phillip Hughes' run of outs has dramatically altered the picture.

''The guys said they were pretty keen to go to the Boxing Day Test on day one and I thought it was a pretty good idea,'' Mr Sanders said. ''It so transpired that the groomsman will be hopefully out in the middle; it's been pretty funny.''

There's ''fat chance'' of Cowan getting his friends better seats, but he is bracing for some high jinks. ''They'll still be there, probably with a banner saying 'Cowan was meant to sit here' or something ridiculous like that,'' Cowan joked.

Cowan was having dinner in a Canberra restaurant on Tuesday when he fielded the phone call every aspiring Test cricketer hopes to take.

''[Chairman of selectors] John Inverarity popped up on my phone so I thought 'gee, I better answer that one','' Cowan said. ''I excused myself from the table and I think they knew when I walked back into the room.''

The call-up vindicated Cowan's decision in 2009 to turn his back on his native New South Wales and move to Tasmania for more opportunities.

Inverarity said Cowan would open with David Warner, with the final batting post to be filled by either Shaun Marsh or Daniel Christian. Usman Khawaja was dropped, while Ricky Ponting kept his spot.