kyle abbott
Kyle Abott was named the player of the match in the second Test against Australia at Hobart getty

Australia take on South Africa in the third Day-Night Test at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday (24 November). The visitors lead the three-match series 2-0.

Where to watch live

Match starts at 3.30am GMT. Live TV coverage of the game is available on BT Sport Europe and BT Sport Europe HD. Click here for the live streaming link.

Overview

Australia's home tour of South Africa was supposed to be a close contest in terms of cricketing skill on the field, but it has been anything but competitive with the visitors steamrolling the hosts so far in both the games. The second Test match showed how far Australia have regressed, losing the match at Hobart by an innings and 85 runs.

The loss led to a number of repercussions with chief selector Rod Marsh stepping down and the selectors opting for a complete shake-up. Three debutants — opener Matt Renshaw, Peter Handscomb and Nic Maddinson — were called up and wicket-keeper Matthew Wade and Jackson Bird were recalled to the squad. This is the first time since the Packer saga of 1977 that three players will be making their debut for Australia.

Australia come into this game on the back of five successive defeats and would look to the senior players to step up. In David Warner and Steve Smith, the hosts have two of the best batsman in cricket today and considering the pink ball is expected to swing massively, the duo will need to step up.

Along with the three newcomers and Wade, the hosts are expected to bring pacer Jackson Bird in place of Joe Mennie.

All talk of South Africa in the lead-up to the Day/Night Test had been on skipper Faf du Plessis who was found guilty of ball-tampering when the International Cricket Council ruled that he applied an outside substance to shine the ball. However, in the midst of all this, what has been forgotten is that the visitors have played some excellent cricket, with both the batsmen and bowlers putting brilliant performances.

Chief among them has been keeper-batsman Quinton de Kock who has been in brilliant form, scoring 252 runs in just three innings at an average of 84 while pace-bowlers Vernon Philander, Kagiso Rabada and Kyle Abbott have put in match-winning spells with the ball in Dale Steyn's absence.

Should South Africa, who are playing their first Day/Night Test, win here they will move to number four in the ICC Test rankings with the skipper keen to secure a clean sweep over their opponents who have never lost every Test of a home series in their history.

Prediction

South Africa to win

Betting odds (ladbrokes)

  • Australia to win: 8/5
  • Draw: 9/2
  • South Africa to win: 1

Team news

Australia

Possible XI: David Warner, Matt Renshaw, Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith (c), Peter Handscomb, Nic Maddinson, Matthew Wade (wk), Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazelwood, Nathan Lyon, Jackson Bird.

South Africa

Possible XI: Stephen Cook, Dean Elgar, Hashim Amla, JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis (c), Temba Bavuma, Quinton de Kock (wk), Vernon Philander, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Kyle Abbott.

Australia South Africa