Sport

A lot to play for at Sydney

SYDNEY: Dead rubbers seldom market themselves, but the third and final Test between Australia and South Africa scheduled to begin here at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday has several things going for it.

For one, South Africa, despite securing the series 2-0, is desperate for a clean sweep — the intensity of desperation indexed by the fact that captain Graeme Smith, who batted in the first two Tests in pain with an elbow injury, will again play on painkillers.

Should South Africa win, it will displace Australia as the world’s best Test team, according to the ICC’s ranking, and Smith, having come this far, wants to end the series strongly before flying home and skipping this month’s one-day series against Ricky Ponting’s side to rest and recover in time for the home Test series against Australia next month.

South Africa will field an unchanged team that beat Australia by nine wickets in the second Test. Ashwell Prince failed a fitness test, ensuring the prodigiously talented Jean-Paul Duminy, who made a magnificent 166 in Melbourne, retains his spot.

“It’s obviously difficult when you’ve had such great moments in the last two Tests to do it again,” said Smith. “The squad is quite calm. Each player is still hungry for performance. There’s a real motivation to win the series 3-0. That opportunity hasn’t come around for many teams often against Australia. Here we sit with that in front of us.”

The New Year Test is also of great interest here in Australia. Mock obituaries of Australian cricket have appeared in local newspapers — a sign of the mood among cricket fans. The Australian selectors have retained opener Matthew Hayden, who has been in wretched form, but the bowling wears a new look.

Left-arm paceman Doug Bollinger and all-rounder Andrew McDonald will make their Test debut as the rebuilding process begins. Along with 27-year-old Mitchell Johnson and the 24-year-old Peter Siddle, McDonald and Bollinger will make up one of the youngest and the most inexperienced Australian pace attacks in recent history.

With Brett Lee missing due to injury, Johnson will lead the attack. Off-spinner Nathan Hauritz retains his place on the spin-friendly SCG track despite criticism of his conservative bowling in the second Test.

“Things are going to be different and we have to look at different ways of going about things,” said captain Ricky Ponting. “We can’t sit back as leaders and coaches and keep doing the same thing because it hasn’t been working for us. We have to learn from the way other teams are going about things as well.”

The teams: Australia: Ricky Ponting (capt.), Matthew Hayden, Simon Katich, Michael Hussey, Michael Clarke, Andrew McDonald, Brad Haddin (wk), Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Hauritz, Peter Siddle, and Doug Bollinger.

South Africa: Graeme Smith (capt.), Neil McKenzie, Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Mark Boucher (wk), Morne Morkel, Paul Harris, Dale Steyn, and Makhaya Ntini.

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