Gunning for top spot

To make it worse, Australia will be without their pace spearhead Brett Lee and all-rounder Andrew Symonds in this match, even though the injured duo had hardly made any impact in the previous two matches. Instead, the uncapped duo of Andrew McDonald and Doug Bollinger is set to make their debut and the attack would be led by left-arm pacer Mitchell Johnson.

Bollinger8217;s inclusion ahead of Ben Hilfenhaus means Australia have opted for two left-arm pacers in the playing eleven, a move that intrigued many. South Africa, meanwhile, have decided to go ahead with an unchanged side, which means in-form JP Duminy gets a chance to continue with his sterling show while Ashwell Prince nurses a broken thumb.

Smith has decided to lead by example and play through pain to complete the mission he has embarked upon. Battling an elbow injury, the South African captain hit two fifties in Melbourne.

While South Africa8217;s batting line-up looks deep and rock solid, the bowling, especially Dale Steyn, has been no less sensational and Smith has little to worry about as the visitors go into the final Test.

In contrast, Australia look a disjointed bunch for whom nothing seems to be going right.

At the top, there is no end to Matthew Hayden8217;s struggles to wriggle out of a bad patch. Public patience is already wearing thin and the demand for his retirement is growing stronger. In fact barring Ponting, who struck 101 and 99 in Melbourne, no other Austrailan batsman has made his mark in the series so far.

Australia8217;s bowling has been pretty pedestrian as well and South Africa8217;s in-form batsmen simply feasted on the innocuous stuff sent down by the hosts. Even though Brett Lee was far from his best in Melbourne, his absence further makes it an inexperienced attack which has its leader in 17-Test old Mitchell Johnson.

In the spin department too, Nathan Hauritz has not really set alight the turf and Australia would need an extraordinary effort over the next five days to avoid a defeat.

Teams

Australia: Ricky Ponting c, 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 c, Neil McKenzie, Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Mark Boucher wk, Morne Morkel, Paul Harris, Dale Steyn and Makhaya Ntini.