Australia claimed a series win against South Africa at the MCG meaning the New Year’s Test is a dead rubber.
But that doesn’t mean there’s not a lot to play for.
With two huge away series on the horizon against India and England, it’s a chance to address a number of big issues.
Read on for all the burning questions heading into the third Test at the SCG which starts on Wednesday.
Watch Australia v South Africa. Every test match live and ad-break in play on Kayo. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now >
IS THIS WARNER’S LAST TEST IN AUS?
MORE CRICKET NEWS
‘Unleash Wild Thing 2.0’: Legends back Morris in four-man selection shake-up
‘Back to the old me’: Inside sudden realisation that sparked another Warner resurgence
It’s certainly a realistic possibility.
This outcome looked far more likely just a week ago when Warner was struggling for Test runs and patience – at least in the public eye – was starting to run thin.
Warner’s double century in the Boxing Day Test means that instead of fighting for his spot in Sydney, he arrives back in his home town with his future his to decide.
And yet, that doesn’t mean that this won’t be his last Test in Australia anyway.
What’s certain is that Warner will play on in 2023, fuelled by the motivation to compete in a bumper year that includes two of the biggest series Australia can play.
Australia will tour India in February, and play an Ashes in England in the middle of the year.
Warner hasn’t won a series outright in two trips to India and three to England, while he only averages 26.04 and 24.25 in the nations respectively.
It’s therefore no surprise that after the Boxing Day Test, with runs back in the back, Warner declared that he has unfinished business.
“The extra motivation for me is winning in India and completely winning a series in England,” Warner said.
Warner stitched up at Kirribilli | 00:36
“I’ve been told by the coach and the selectors they would like me to be there.”
Warner also said that he doesn’t feel 36 years old, and doesn’t see age as a factor for as long as he’s out-running his younger teammates.
A gruelling year lies ahead, however.
Warner is set to play up to four Tests in India and five in England with a possible sixth coming in the World Test Championship final. Then, he will be a key player for Australia at the ODI World Cup – all before another Test is played in Australia.
That’s an awful lot of cricket. Warner could play up to 20 Test innings, and several ODI fixtures before the first ball of the 2023-24 summer is bowled.
Warner’s 200 at the MCG will remain one of the most iconic Test innings played by an Australia, but with that much water left to flow under the bridge, it will mean very little in a year’s time.
Furthermore, he’s previously flagged that he could be in the final year of his Test career with the red ball game expected to fall as he prioritises white ball formats.
If that situation comes to pass, Warner could certainly do worse than to play his last Test in Australia in front of his home crowd and fresh from arguably his greatest ever innings.
The beauty for Warner is that, as things stand, it’s at least his call to decide.
WHO WILL END THEIR TEST EXILE?
For all the excitement young guns Aaron Hardie and Todd Murphy generated ahead of the Sydney Test, it was two former Test players that earned a call-up.
Selectors instead added Ashton Agar and Matthew Renshaw to Australia’s squad with Mitchell Starc and Cameron Green to miss the last Test of the summer through injury.
Agar has played four Tests, but not since September 2017, while the last of Renshaw’s 11 appearances came in April 2018.
Renshaw shot himself back into contention by averaging more than 50 in this year’s Sheffield Shield, while Agar’s wealth of international experience and left-arm tweakers have seemingly made him the front-runner to partner Nathan Lyon in India.
As for in Sydney, one, or both, of these players are set to end their Text exiles, although the former is more likely.
The final decision will be heavily influenced by the conditions in Sydney and how well the SCG wicket will take spin.
Australia is certain to retain its top five batters, wicketkeeper Alex Carey, captain Pat Cummins, and strike spinner Lyon.
Renshaw and Agar added for Sydney Test | 00:57
That leaves room for a No.6 or No.7, depending on where Carey bats, and two more bowlers.
If specialist batter Renshaw was to play, he would bat inside the top six and leave Australia with only four bowling positions.
In this instance, Agar could still play and partner Lyon, although that would leave Australia with only two fast bowlers and no part-timer seamer, save for Marnus Labuschagne’s rare mediums.
You’d have to imagine that the pitch will need to be a raging turner for selectors to fancy this approach.
What feels more likely is that Renshaw will miss out and Carey, fresh from his maiden century, will bat at No.6, allowing for five bowlers.
That would leave Agar to play alongside Lyon while still having three recognised seamers in the attack.
Should the conditions surprise and not favour spin at all, then Australia still has just enough options to go with four quicks alongside Lyon (more on this below).
WILL THE ‘WILD THING’ BE UNLEASHED?
He’s certainly right in the mix, although there remains a number of roadblocks that could stop him from earning a baggy green in Sydney.
The biggest factor will be the conditions, which will influence what the make-up of Australia’s XI looks like.
If the ball is expected to turn at right-angles from an early stage, then Australia could go in with just the two seamers and count on Lyon, Agar and a number of spinning part-timers to do the job.
That scenario would almost certainly see Morris miss out with Cummins likely partnering either fit-again Josh Hazlewood or Scott Boland.
It does, however, seem unlikely that selectors would forgo a third seam option on anything less than a subcontinental dustbowl.
As such, the door opens that bit more to 24-year-old Morris, who has been billed as Australia’s fastest bowler, who’s been clocked at 153km/h in the Sheffield Shield.
Three fast bowlers means that Morris only has to beat one of Hazlewood or Boland – not both – to a spot, unless Australia was to shock everyone by resting captain Cummins.
Even that might feel like a tall order for Morris, but Boland has played three Tests in quick succession while Hazlewood has been in cotton wool with two crucial overseas tours on the horizon.
Furthermore, Morris’ sheer speed through the air could provide a key point of difference in Australia’s attack alongside the more precise approach of Cummins. And given the Sydney Test is a dead rubber and the India series is so close, the temptation to use Morris over Boland or Hazlewood becomes all the more attractive.
Morris is of the opinion that things are about to tip in his favour, although he still holds some reservations.
“I’m trying not to get ahead of myself quite just yet,” Morris said on Saturday. “From what I’ve been told there is that likelihood there but you just never know.
“It’s completely down to the pitch conditions (at the SCG) when we rock up and how they want to go about it.
“I don’t know if you’ll ever feel exactly ready, but I’m feeling really good at the moment so I just have to back myself in and see how we go.”
Another possibility, albeit a far less likely one, is that Australia don’t pick two spinners or an all-rounder and go with four quicks with Lyon.
In that instance, Morris would be guaranteed a Test debut.
IS BOLAND AHEAD OF HAZLEWOOD?
The other variable in the Australian selection discussion relates to arguably Australia’s two most consistently accurate fast bowlers, Hazlewood and Boland.
If a situation arises where it’s one or the other, then who gets the nod?
For the second summer in a row, Boland has expertly filled Hazlewood’s shoes after the latter suffered a minor side strain.
And just like last summer, Boland hasn’t put a foot wrong across three Tests, taking 10 wickets at 17.00 this summer.
Simply put, those aren’t numbers that warrant being dropped.
And the fact that Boland has played six Tests in the past year, and Hazlewood only two, only clouds the situation further.
It’s long been thought that a spot is Hazlewood’s to take when fit, in the same way that Mitchell Starc or Cummins’ selections aren’t questioned.
The three certainly do have plenty of credit in the bank.
But how many games can Hazlewood miss, and how many does Boland have to play and do well in, before that situation changes?
That pace trio has been thought of as impenetrable in home conditions for years, but Boland’s performances should prove it to be simply no longer the case.
We could arrive at a situation soon where Boland trumps Hazlewood on merit – and that shouldn’t be seen as a ridiculous call.
For now, however, Hazlewood has declared he’s fit and ready to go, while Boland has pushed through three Tests in quicktime, which could warrant an early rest.
