CAPE TOWN: Nic Maddinson has been dropped and Steve Smith is yet to prove his fitness for the pivotal third Test against South Africa at Newlands. Maddinson, a late call-up to the team who made three low scores out of four innings as an opener, will join backup wicketkeeper Sam Harper in flying home early, with Josh Inglis and Cameron Green back to fitness.
Smith, who batted briefly at the main session on Sunday, is still recovering from the neck injury that severely affected him in Gqeberha. His fitness status may also play a role in what happens with Marnus Labuschagne. Inglis and Green are both strongly in the mix to bat either in the top three or further down the order.
"He's got a bit of a neck issue going at the moment. You guys would have seen that play out in the nets. I think he had about 20 odd minutes in the nets, give or take. Today he'll progress that," coach Andrew McDonald said of Smith. "He didn't have his helmet on yesterday as well, so that'll take part and hopefully progresses. We feel like it's going to be a pretty steep progression in terms of he should be available. You'll see that play out in terms of what happens. But we're confident that he will be available."
South Africa's captain Temba Bavuma confirmed on Monday that the hosts would choose firebrand fast bowler Gerald Coetzee to replace the injured Anrich Nortje. Coetzee has 14 wickets from four Tests at 23.57 and was notable for breaking the arm of Travis Head with a rising delivery in a 2023 ODI series, which forced Head to miss the early rounds of that year's World Cup in India.
Australia's selectors are due to finalise their team later on Monday around their final training session ahead of a game they must win to retain the top spot on the ICC's Test rankings. Selection chair George Bailey said the panel would not be discarding Maddinson, and wanted him and Harper to return to Sheffield Shield ranks to make runs.
"Would you like more runs? Yes, so that's okay. Did it allow us to set the rest of the team up the way that we wanted to whilst we're working with the group we have? Yes," Bailey said. "We always talk about what do we see when we see players at their best. I think you saw a glimpse of that in the second innings in Durban. With him going home, it was wanting to be clear to him it wasn't a stopgap and that's it, and it's a discard. The same reasons that and process we work through to get him to be on the table for here, and ultimately to play. They'll be the same questions that we'll ask across the home summer to India as well. So, just being clear with he and Harps that, yeah, they were here for the right reasons, but yeah, more runs."
Bailey added that Labuschagne's sequence of starts without making big scores was understandably being criticised, but the selectors had to weigh up whether his scores had value in the context of the forthcoming game. "We're seeing some good things. Is there a block at the moment around 30s? Yes, still contributing in terms of his ability to get through a number of balls," Bailey said. "So it's a decision around what does that look like if it gets through there and again, what does it look like for the collective, is it helping others around him? Is it helping the team get a result that we ultimately want?"
Matt Renshaw is set to return to opening after two Tests at number five, having prepared to play as an opener before the Green and Inglis injuries.