‘Ready-made’ fix to finally solve major problem; shock bowling switch up Aussies’ sleeves — Talking Points

Selections questions are once again on everyone’s tongue as Australia appears set to ring the changes for the deciding Test against South Africa in Cape Town, starting Tuesday night.

Training habits in recent days at Newlands have dropped several hints as to the make-up of Australia’s batting line-up, while another big decision needs to be made on spinner Nathan Lyon.

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One of Lyon’s former teammates believes head selector George Bailey and coach Andrew McDonald could pull a surprise in the spin department.

While an exciting youngster could be thrown into the cauldron of the third and final Test of this heavyweight bout between the top-two ranked teams in the world.

Of course, Australia’s return to the scene of their sandpaper crime cannot be ignored and a big change from the locals might turn the mood of the series on its head.

As the trophy Pat Cummins and Temba Bavuma’s sides are playing for also finds itself in the spotlight.

Scroll down for the biggest talking points ahead of the third Test!

WHAT WILL THE BATTING ORDER LOOK LIKE?

Just as Nic Maddinson did before the first Test Durban, Matt Renshaw has been facing new balls at training in Cape Town in recent days.

Marnus Labuschagne was bumped down the main net rotation, while Cameron Green and Josh Inglis have declared themselves fit and ready to go.

Sam Harper practised catching and fielding balls, but he and Maddinson will return home to Australia for Sheffield Shield duties this weekend after their stints as reserves for the pair injured above came to an end.

It has been a few fascinating days of training for the Australians in Newlands, which is scarcely surprising given the extent of the loss last weekend in Gqebeha.

Green has bowled at training too in a promising step following the abdominal injury that kept him out of the first two Tests of the series and it is hoped the Western Australian will be able to fulfil the role at some stage over the summer.

Right now, Australia’s top seven is a puzzle where many pieces can come together in all sorts of different orders.

What is certain is that former Australian batter Usman Khawaja believes Renshaw must be promoted to the top of the order.

“I’ve always preferred Matthew Renshaw to open. So, I feel like if Green comes in, Renny will go up the top,” Khawaja told foxsports.com.au.

“No discredit to Nic Maddinson. I think Nic Maddinson is terrific. I actually would have put him in the middle order at the start of the series, purely based on the fact the opening is so hard of a gap to fill.

“And we struggled for such a long time and we have a ready-made opener right there - Matt Renshaw, a Test opener. I feel like that’s the spot you want to fill first because there’s always going to be people you can find in the middle order.”

Putting the other pieces together, Travis Head will surely stay opening, despite calls for him to return to the middle order, due to his second innings century in Gqeberha. He has made four centuries in nine Tests since being promoted to the role.

But if changes are afoot, a shake-up of the rest of the top seven may be on the cards.

Khawaja said on Kayo Sports during the second Test that “Smudge loves batting three” and none of the replacements waiting in the wings are natural No.3s to replace Labuschagne - if the Queenslander is omitted.

There is no guarantee of that, despite the lament he showed at training on Sunday. While he was absent from training on Monday, that has not been unusual on this tour and there is a school of thought he remains in the mix.

In a briefing with the Australian press pack on Monday morning, chairman of selectors George Bailey said that while the Queenslander clearly was struggling to consolidate his starts, there was still positive signs in the way he was starting.

“We’re seeing some good things, yes. Is there a block at the moment around 30s? Yes,” Bailey said.

“Still contributing in terms of his ability to get through a number of balls. So it’s a decision around what does that look like if it gets through there, and what does it look like for the collective around and how everyone else, is it helping others around him? Is it helping the team get a result that we ultimately want?”

Quizzed as to how many chances Labuschagne had to rally, Bailey said; “I don’t know how long the rope can be, but I think it does depend on what you want to do in terms of structuring up around and looking at that as a collective versus isolation of, you’re guaranteed to get this amount of games.”

“What are you coming up against? What challenges do you need to solve as a team? So I don’t think there should be a set number of that’s how long you need to prove one by the other,” he said.

Steve Smith could rise to first drop - where he averages 65.22 in Test cricket and has scored eight centuries - and Cameron Green could bat at No.4 despite performing well against Bangladesh at No.5.

But there remains a cloud surrounding the fitness of Smith, who spent the best part of an hour in the nets on Monday and while he was able to play every shot, he still looked hindered.

That would allow Inglis, who walked laps Monday, to slot into the middle order, while Alex Carey has occupied the No.6 spot since the second Test of last summer’s Ashes but was demoted behind Webster in the second innings at St George’s Park.

The gloveman’s position in the line-up seems as if it will be determined by what call is made on Webster, who spent an extended time batting in the nets.

DO THE DEMONS OF CAPE TOWN HAUNT THE AUSSIES?

Australians would have to either have a short memory or have been living under a rock in 2018 to not know what happened in Cape Town.

It is a dark chapter in the nation’s history that was revisited extensively in the lead-up to the series and is once again in the spotlight as the tourists return to the scene of their sandpaper crime.

There is no doubt that Pat Cummins’ men will be doing their best to ignore the painful memories of eight years ago and focus on trying to secure a series victory.

But after much talk in the lead-up to the series about the hostile reception Australia was set to receive from the South African crowds, that may finally be about to arrive.

After a minuscule turnout in Durban and a slightly larger crowd in Gqeberha, Newlands is set to be almost at capacity across the first three days despite the Test starting on a Tuesday.

They will surely flood through the turnstiles again on days four and five if an epic finish is on the cards.

All the shenanigans from the locals many expected before the series began will almost certainly play out.

There will surely be South African fans waving pieces of sandpapers in the air or brandishing signs calling the Australians cheats.

Hopefully, there will be no lines crossed like when a fan, who was hurling verbal abuse, came too close to David Warner as he marched up the stairs to the visitors dressing room after being dismissed in the first innings in 2018.

But Khawaja was unsure as to how exactly it will impact the Australians.

“Will Cape Town have a psychological effect on the Australians? Maybe. Who knows?” he told foxsports.com.au.

There has been at least one change in Newlands since the last Test visit here eight years ago by Australia, with the configuration of the change rooms altered.

In his book The Price Paid, former captain Tim Paine said that part of the reason the tampering controversy that unfolded was restricted to the knowledge of so few was because the showers and toilets meant the players were separated, while the coaches sat in a different spot all together.

But among the many innovations to the ground in the years since then, which includes a superb press box and a modern conference area, there is now far more space in the rooms the Australian cricketers will share this week.

Australian captain Pat Cummins said on Monday the Aussies had not necessarily given what unfolded eight years ago much thought.

“Honestly, not really. I’ve played here a fair few times over the years and this is where I made my T20 debut,” he said.

“So I feel like a lot of the times when I travel around South Africa, it’s my debut tour that brings back a lot of memories, rather than the 2018 tour. (It) really hasn’t been spoken about too much this week.

“Again, we’ve probably got a few reasons to not enjoy this this venue, but every time we come here, it’s always just ‘Wow. What an amazing cricket ground’ and we kind of get excited for the week ahead.”

The best way to overcome any lingering demons is with a strong performance on the pitch. A trademark of Cummins’ era as captain has been this team’s ability to bounce back from defeat.

Australia may have lost three of their past six Tests, but they have not suffered back-to-back defeats since the first two Tests of the 2023 tour of India.

Outside of the subcontinent, Australia has not lost back-to-back Tests since a shattered side were pummelled by South Africa in the series finale in Johannesburg following the sandpaper chaos of Cape Town.

If they are to keep that record in tact, unlike in Gqeberha, Australia will need to master the conditions, which can be challenging.

“I’m not a fortune teller, but Newlands is one of those wickets that’s dictated to by above more than below,” Khawaja said.

“It’s their version of the Gabba. It is nippy. It is tough for batsman, but when the sun’s out, it can be a very good batting track.”

Unlike Australia’s long history of dominance at the Gabba - despite recent hiccups against India and the West Indies - the Proteas have not dominated at Newlands against the visitors.

This century, they have split their meetings at the scenic ground. Australia lost in 2018, won in 2014, lost in 2011, lost in 2009, won in 2006 and won in 2002.

The fact there were no draws in that stretch, plus the flaws in both teams’ application with bat in hand in the first two Tests, also suggests that this series will get a result. It will ultimately come down to one aspect of the contest.

“Batting’s going to be the key,” Khawaja said.

“Who can out bat the other team? Last time it was South Africa. (The) first game was Australia.”

WILL LYON PLAY?

Picturesque Newlands has been an interesting checkpoint in the career of Nathan Lyon, who on Saturday sat at the edge of the pitch for several minutes in what looked like a bid to read the mysteries it might offer up this week.

Forgotten in the wash-up of Sandpapergate was that Lyon, who bowled at length on Sunday in Cape Town, took his 300th Test wicket on the same day as Australian cricket plunged into turmoil in Cape Town in 2018.

The milestone came at a venue that has not been a happy hunting ground for the champion off spinner, for he had previously gone wicketless at Newlands in 2011 and 2014.

In 2011, seamers ran riot on a chaotic second day where 23 wickets fell.

Lyon did not get a bowl as Shane Watson took five wickets and Ryan Harris claimed four as South Africa were rolled for 96.

He then only bowled three overs in the second innings as the hosts romped to an eight-wicket win on day three courtesy of centuries by Graeme Smith and Hashim Amla.

The only slight bit of personal consolation for Lyon was that the No.11 top-scored with 14 as Australia were knocked over for 47 in their second innings.

Three years later, Lyon sent down 12 overs in the first innings, conceding 53 runs, and then bowled 22 overs, including 17 maidens, for just ten runs as South Africa bunkered down to try hang on for a draw.

If the lion-hearted Ryan Harris had not pushed through the pain barrier to bowl Australia to a famous win late on day five, Lyon would have been mauled.

In those early years of his career, critics regularly questioned Lyon’s capability of bowling his country to victory on days four and five.

He had quietened those critics by 2018, but his five wickets in that Test have effectively been forgotten because of the television cameras springing Cameron Bancroft putting sandpaper down his pants.

It might work in Lyon’s favour this week that the Australian selectors seem to not worry about the past, and only focus on what they believe will win them a Test match right now.

Australian captain Pat Cummins said on Monday that they are well aware of “Nate’s quality” but there was a lot to weigh up on the selection front.

“Again, there’s normally been quite a lot of runs here,” he said.

“Spin has played a little bit of a role, not huge, but we know Nathan’s class. So if he comes in, he’s played here a few times. He controls the game really well. He can take top order wickets, lower order wickets.”

But after missing out in Gqeberha last week, Lyon’s record of five wickets at 43.80 at Newlands, and spinners have averaged 54.50 at the venue since 2020, hardly screams pick me.

Coming into this series, no one would have predicted Lyon to sit out at St George’s Park - the venue with the lowest average for spinners outside of Asia in the last ten years.

That statistic is why chair of selectors George Bailey said upon announcing the squad last month that left arm tweaker Matt Kuhnemann was included.

The prospect of playing two spinners - like the hosts did with Simon Harmer and Keshav Maharaj in Durban - was initially on the cards.

But even the hosts have shelved this plan, with stalwart Maharaj sidelined in what South African captain Temba Bavuma has called one of the toughest decisions he has been a part of, with the number of Aussie left-handers a reason for it.

Khawaja, who retired from Test cricket earlier this year, even suggested the prospect of Kuhnemann playing instead of Lyon in Cape Town to spin the ball away from South Africa’s right-handers, which was a factor in the Proteas backing Simon Harmer.

“I know Nathan Lyon’s the ‘GOAT’, and there’s nothing against the GOAT. This is purely based on the fact the South Africans have so many right-handers in their team. I think Kuhnemann deserves to be talked about,” Khawaja told foxsports.com.au.

This tour has highlighted the Australian selectors’ willingness to pivot, and Lyon will be hoping the clear forecast means a dry surface and a return to the XI.

The Newlands square has appeared to be dry as both sides have trained in the lead-up.

The need for a specialist spinner then puts the onus on the selectors to decide who of Australia’s four quicks misses out - a conundrum arguably harder to solve than fitting the pieces of the batting puzzle together.

There is also another aspect at play, for in five of the ten Tests where Australia has left a specialist spinner out over the past 12 months, they have won three and lost two of them.

And back in 2023, when Todd Murphy was omitted in Manchester after Lyon injured himself at Lord’s in the second Test of the Ashes, only rain saved the Aussies from a loss.

Australian wicketkeeper Alex Carey said on Sunday in South Africa that while he was unaware of the win-loss ratio associated with playing a specialist spinner, he felt the Aussies would still perform well regardless of the choice they went for.

“I don’t know the stats around win loss without (spin) but I think it is pretty good,” he said.

“Obviously last week Josh Hazlewood went down and any time you lose a bowler, I guess the loads and the way you structure up changes. And I think any way you try to take 20 wickets, the selectors will put a team out there.

“I think historically we’ve done pretty well. We’ve seen Renners bowl overs, Beau Webster probably bowled the most amount of overs he has bowled in a little while - I thought he actually bowled really well without the wicket.

“So, yeah, I think we still structure up really well if we don’t have that spinner. But we’ve seen for a number of years that when you do have the spin as well, so we’ll wait and see how it looks this week, what the selectors see in the wicket and which way we go with that.”

DO THE AUSSIES HAVE A WILDCARD UP THEIR SLEEVE?

Khawaja flagged Matt Kuhnemann as a potential bolter for this Test given his abilty to turn the ball away from right-handers, which the Proteas have an abundance of.

But another man with the capability to do that, though admittedly with far less craft or experience, is Cooper Connolly.

The Western Australian has been overlooked to date on this tour and did not bowl in a training session on Sunday, but did spend a significant time in the nets being peppered by the cream of Australia’s bowling stocks.

Before the series Australian vice-captain Travis Head told foxsports.com.au at the SCG that he liked what he had seen in Connolly, who featured in Sri Lanka last February and spent time bowling and batting in the nets on Monday.

“He is hugely talented (and is) someone that brings a lot of skills as well,” he said in September.

“I think he is someone who is going to be needed over a period of time. We have five Test matches in India, and what he can bring with the ball and when he’s batting - he has got (some) really good IPL experience as well - is impressive.

“It’s good to have some youth in there, having someone in the squad with some energy that brings that different feel to a squad on and off the field as well.

“But for him, it’s (important for him to) just continually learn and get better and learn quicker. He can sort of upskill himself be around the guys and watching them go about it. Every time I’ve seen him play, he has gotten better, which is positive, so that’s all we can ask for in trying conditions.

“There’ve been some guys that come early in their career with some really challenging conditions, and they can test you. So every time I see anything getting better. He has had an impact and it’s great having him as well.”

Carey was asked on Sunday how Connolly’s bowling was progressing and he said the lefty certainly had something to offer with the ball.

“Coops is working really hard, as you just alluded to there,” he said.

“His batting is probably his number one (skill) and, you know, his bowling is really effective as well. And he’s getting overs in one-day cricket, which is only going to help his development.

“I don’t know his first-class record with the ball, but you know his shapes are looking really good, and you know he’s a jet in the field as well. So, he’s a really exciting young talent.”

Asked he was open to the prospect of potentially using a spinning all-rounder in the Test, Cummins said all options were on the table.

“I think you’re always pretty open to anything, really. We’ve played Test matches where we’ve had four bowlers and no all-rounders, so you know everything’s on the table,” he said.

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

Amid the chatter surrounding Australia’s selection snafu, another topic has been doing the rounds in South Africa during this tour and it is an interesting one.

Australia and England play for the Ashes. When the Aussies tackle India early next year, they will be competing for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. At stake when Australia takes on New Zealand in white-ball cricket is the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy.

While Australia and Sri Lanka in Test matches vie for the Warne-Muralitharan Trophy, and Australia retained the Frank Worrell Trophy in the Caribbean last year.

But when the Aussies face the Proteas, who have featured in several brilliant series since their reinstatement back in the early 1990s after the Apartheid ban? There is no name attached.

When the query was put to Alex Carey at Newlands on Sunday as to whether he believed it was something both nations should consider, he was taken aback, but offered up a suggestion with the reflexes that make him such a great wicketkeeper.

Why not call it the Kallis-Ponting Trophy, he asked? We think the South Australian is on a winner with that one.

But that aside, what is on the line is the series and arguably the status as to which nation deserves top billing.

“I mean, it’s definitely the biggest match this week for us,” Cummins said.

“Every series is huge for us. It’s really hard to put one above another. We desperately want to win this week (and we will) put everything into it. (We’re) definitely not thinking about two months ahead or Test matches that we’ve (got) coming up at all on this week.

“So it’s a massive series. (We’ve) been talking about it for a long time and I feel like we’re really well placed and just excited to get it all started.”

Bavuma, meanwhile, said that while the Proteas would rate the historical triumph at Lord’s last year when winning the World Test Championship above a series win here, it was still a significant moment for South Africa.

“(It is) definitely not another game of cricket,” he said.

“Look, I think it’s exciting. Firstly, we managed to get it to this point, one-one. You come to Newlands. (There are) not many better places to play cricket. And then I think in terms of the bigger picture, there’s an opportunity for us to get closer to potentially being closer to the finals.

“It’s not a lot of cricket that we have to play: Bangladesh, England, Sri Lanka. So I think we give that respect. But it’s definitely not another not another game of cricket.

“Some guys in the group haven’t tasted test victory over Australia, so it would be nice for them to to experience what that means.”