Peter Siddle ruled out Hobart Test, Joe Mennie set to make debut

Vernon Philander snared five wickets as South Africa dismissed Australia for 85 on the opening day of the second cricket test, leaving captain Steve Smith stranded unbeaten on 48 when he ran out of batting partners.

Wessels also hit out at the Australian selectors, saying if they “had any sense” they would stop picking all-rounder Mitchell Marsh and instead opt for six batsmen, a wicket-keeper and four bowlers.

Temba Bavuma, who produced one of the great run outs on the fourth day to dismiss David Warner, the first Australian to fall, was brought on to bowl – chiefly to give rest to the main bowlers in Steyn’s absence – and nearly struck with his first ball in Test cricket.

“They’ll be hurting from the previous Test match and they’ll want to try and turn that around”, he told a news conference on Friday. “You must just wait and see”, he said.

Voges tweaked his hamstring in the field during the first Test at the WACA, where Australia suffered a 177-run loss to South Africa.

“He’s fine”, he said of the 37-year-old.

“I would say every spot is under pressure”, Australian coach Darren Lehmann admitted, with Smith adding: “Every aspect of our game needs improvement”. Mitchell Marsh’s last decent Test knock does not even come to memory and Peter Nevill, though he played a good role in the second innings, does not look like a decent bet with the bat but he will be retained as he is the keeper. The second Test of the series will be played at Hobart from November 12 and the third in Adelaide from November 24. The guys feel like they are in a good place so it’s about going out there and making sure that we get the job done.

“Obviously we knew they’re a very talented team and that they’d be a very tough challenge”.

Josh Hazlewood bowled well against the West Indies in Hobart last December and with Mitchell Starc not quite firing yet, his efforts will be critical for Australia.

Australians have become accustomed to seeing Steve Smith’s side flop on foreign wickets but have little tolerance for failure at home.

In February next year, Australia are scheduled to travel to India for a four-Test series and former captain Adam Gilchrist said going by their recent outing the Aussies need to work hard on identifying big moments where they lack consistency.

“I tend to use my feet a fair bit and I suppose that’s not giving too much away because everyone’s got footage of everyone these days”.

“That second innings, was there any thought that we are just going to block here and stonewall, and I actually don’t think that they have the skills to do that and that’s what I kind of question”.

Rabada made superb use of reverse swing to trouble Australia’s batsman in the first test but there is doubt conditions in Hobart will allow the ball to reverse.