Australia has experienced a massive setback as Steve Smith will not play in the series finale owing to a neck injury ahead of the third and final Test match against South Africa.
Smith was supposed to have a fitness test prior to the pivotal match after experiencing neck discomfort during Australia’s match-eve training session. But for the last Test at Newlands in Cape Town, the seasoned batsman was kept out of the starting lineup. During the second Test in Gqeberha, Smith was similarly affected by an injury that prevented him from batting for a long time, as Australia lost by an innings and 31 runs.
Australia Make 4 Changes
For the series finale, Australia has added Josh Inglis, Cameron Green, Cooper Connolly, and Nathan Lyon to their starting lineup. Green is anticipated to bat at No. 4 in Smith’s absence, while Matt Renshaw, who has shown promise since rejoining the team, will open opposite Travis Head. As of right now, the three-match World Test Championship series is tied at one. After Australia won the first Test in Durban by 214 runs, South Africa decisively defeated them in the second game, setting up a series finale.
“We’re going to have a bowl. So have first use of it. We’ve got four changes. We’ve got Cooper Connolly, Cam Green, Nathan Lyon back in and Josh Inglis. Beau Webster, Nick Maddinson, Scotty Boland and unfortunately , not quite right. (Explaining how late the decision was made on Smith’s availability) He had another little try this morning. But yeah, wasn’t happy with how his neck was feeling, so had to look elsewhere. It’s a huge opportunity for us this week. Everyone’s itching to get out there. (Reflecting on the difficult decision to leave Scott Boland out) Very hard. Yeah, he’s such a class player. As it was hard to leave out Nathan Lyon last week. So it’s a good problem to have. But yeah, he can consider himself very unlucky,” said Cummins at toss.
Playing XIs
South Africa: Aiden Markram, Marques Ackerman, David Bedingham, Temba Bavuma(c), Matthew Breetzke, Ryan Rickelton(w), Wiaan Mulder, Marco Jansen, Simon Harmer, Gerald Coetzee, Kagiso Rabada.
: Travis Head, Matt Renshaw, Marnus Labuschagne, Cameron Green, Josh Inglis, Alex Carey(w), Cooper Connolly, Pat Cummins(c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood.