SYDNEY, Jan 2: South Africa can eclipse Australia as the leading Test-playing nation on the ICC rankings with victory in the third and final Test which begins at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday.

The visitors, who have named an unchanged team, lead the series 2-0 and are looking to inflict Australia’s first home whitewash in 122 years.

With Brett Lee, Shane Watson and Andrew Symonds injured, the hosts feature one of their most inexperienced attacks. All-rounder Andrew McDonald and bowler Doug Bollinger will make their debuts.

Left-arm seamer Bollinger, who plays his state cricket for New South Wales, received the nod ahead of Ben Hilfenhaus on his home ground at the SCG.

“[The decision] obviously had a lot to do with his overall skills in the type of conditions that we’re going to be confronted with here at the SCG,” Australian captain Ricky Ponting told a press conference on Friday.

McDonald, 27, has been in excellent form for Victoria over the past two seasons, scoring 1619 runs and taking 57 wickets.

South Africa captain Graeme Smith will lead his side as normal, despite the announcement on Thursday that he will miss the subsequent one-day series as he bids to recover from a chronic elbow injury.

However, vice-captain Ashwell Prince remains sidelined with a thumb injury.

Having lost the final two Tests in India, Australia recovered to win both matches of the home series against New Zealand, but face the very real prospect of their first whitewash Down Under since 1887-88.

Australia have been the official world number one team for all but eight months of the last 13 years.

“We’ve had an amazing run as a team. We have dominated world cricket for a long period of time,” Ponting said.

“We’ve all got to remain upbeat. There’s no time for panic or as [chief selector] Andrew Hilditch said, chop and change.

“I’m still very positive and very sure that with some of these younger guys coming on that in a few years time we can get back up there and be dominating world cricket once again.”

Australia will field one of their most inexperienced bowling line-ups ever with Mitchell Johnson the most experienced of the quintet with 17 Test appearances.

“It’s going to be a challenge for me and something I’m looking forward to,” said the 27-year-old Johnson.

“That’s probably my job in the team – to try to help these young blokes through this next little period.

“That’s something I’ve got to step up and do now. I still think we’re a very strong side even though we’ve got a lot of young guys in the team.”

Meanwhile, the South Africans are determined to press for the clean sweep.

“Our two victories have shown up very much the frame of mind our guys are in,” Smith said. “They have been very graceful in the victories they have had. They haven’t been over the top and they have been very respectful. I think that shows the mindset of the guys.

“There is obviously a huge amount of happiness to be arriving here 2-0 up. The Sydney Test match is normally a great occasion and we know that there is still a lengthy summer ahead of us against Australia.”

Smith was the top Test run-scorer in 2008 “We want to win and there is a real motivation to win the series 3-0. That opportunity hasn’t come around very often for teams against Australia.

“The team is motivated and I think there is a lot of individual motivation as well. The guys want to win and put in big performances.” With Bollinger getting the nod ahead of Hilfenhaus, Smith described Australia’s decision to opt for two left-arm seamers — in Bollinger and Johnson — as “unusual”.

Teams:

AUSTRALIA: Matthew Hayden, Simon Katich, Ricky Ponting (captain), Mike Hussey, Michael Clarke, Andrew McDonald, Brad Haddin, Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Hauritz, Peter Siddle, Doug Bollinger, Ben Hilfenhaus.

SOUTH AFRICA: Graeme Smith (captain), Neil McKenzie, Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, A.B. de Villiers, Jean-Paul Duminy, Mark Boucher, Morne Morkel, Paul Harris, Dale Steyn, Makhaya Ntini.

Umpires: Billy Doctrove (West Indies) and Asoka de Silva (Sri Lanka).

Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle (Sri Lanka).—Agencies