Australia vs. South Africa 3rd Test betting odds & free tips

Australia – $2.85 at Sportsbet
Draw – $5 at William Hill
South Africa – $2.10 at Bet365

IT’S been an eventful week since South Africa wrapped up the Test series with a dominant win in Hobart.

That result was the last straw for Rod Marsh, who quit as Australia’s head selector in a move that has had a significant ripple effect.

The interim selection team chaired by Trevor Hohns has wasted no time wielding the axe.

Gone are Joe Burns, Callum Ferguson and Adam Voges, replaced by soon-to-be debutants Peter Handscomb, Nic Maddinson and Matt Renshaw.

Also out is Peter Nevill, who makes way for the superior batting and leadership qualities of Matthew Wade.

It’s one and done for Joe Mennie, with Chadd Sayers and Jackson Bird to fight it out for the third seamer’s spot.

That’s five changes for a dead rubber, with a noted focus on youth and potential in the batting stocks.

Hohns insisted it was impossible to overlook the recent form of the new call-ups.

“Form on the first two [Renshaw and Maddinson] were very important, there was always an area at the top of the order that was in contention,” he told the press over the weekend.

“And Peter Handscomb getting 200, he’s been there and thereabouts for a good couple of years now. He’s always been spoken about in our selection meetings, hasn’t quite made the cut recently but now his form can’t be ignored.

“Sometimes you do of course go with your gut, as they say. It’s all very well looking at statistics all the time but sometimes, particularly right now, we were asked to go with some players.

“And we decided to do that of course, because we obviously need to, go with some players that we thought could play for Australia and hold us in good stead for years to come.”

Nathan Lyon’s position has been called into question after a return of two wickets at 120.50 from the first two Tests, and Hohns admitted Stephen O’Keefe may well have got the nod for Adelaide if not for another injury concern.

“Stephen was in serious contention there’s no doubt,” Hohns said.

“Nathan as we all know, has over 200 Test wickets, he’s our best off-spinner that we’ve had ever, so it might not be that he’s not taking wickets at the moment, but there’s no indication that he’s bowling poorly.

“I’m sure if he continues to bowl well as we say in cricket, the wheel always turns.”

South Africa captain Faf du Plessis can appreciate that sentiment, albeit in a far less positive light.

Having steered his side to such a commanding series victory, the stand-in skipper was cited on ball tampering charges last week and will face an ICC hearing on Tuesday afternoon.

The accusatory reactions of Australian media have raised tensions between the tourists and their hosts, especially after the scenes that unfolded at Adelaide Airport on Monday.

Footage of South Africa’s security manager, Zunaid Wadee, repeatedly shoving a reporter out of the team’s path has sparked anger in both camps, but the overwhelming feeling among the wider cricket community is that the Aussie press are latching onto any available excuse for the Baggy Green’s poor form.

Mohammed Moosajee, the tour manager for the Proteas, responded by taking dead aim at the Nine Network.

“The Australian media and Channel Nine News in particular have been advised on numerous occasions over the past few days that Cricket South Africa and captain, Faf du Plessis, are not in a position to comment on the alleged ball-tampering issue,” he said in a statement.

“However, despite our best intentions to co-operate with the Australian media, Channel Nine News’ behaviour has been disappointing. We have advised of our media protocol which has been blatantly ignored, both at the team’s hotel on Friday and Saturday and again at the airport in Adelaide today. This is the third incident of a reporter aggressively harassing our players with blatant disrespect of the above-mentioned media protocol.

“The ‘reporter’ at the airport disrespected us and continued to harass Faf for comment. The ‘reporter’ was also in the unusual position of being in the middle of the players’ walkway to the bus. He was advised to move three times, and did not adhere to this request. The ‘reporter’, who also had no official accreditation, then proceeded to lunge towards Faf with an unknown object causing a direct breach of security protocol. The reporter also shoved the team manager in the back.

“Throughout the tour we have respected all our media obligations and treated media with utmost respect. At the same time, we would like to see this respect reciprocated and will not accept such behaviour as displayed by the Channel Nine News reporter.”

If du Plessis is found guilty and suspended for Adelaide, he will join AB de Villiers and Dale Steyn as another significant absentee for the visitors.

The likely replacement would be Rilee Rossouw, who is a well regarded ODI player with no caps at Test level – much like du Plessis was when he steered his side to safety at Adelaide four years ago.

Match betting tips

– South Africa to win ($2 at Bet365)
– Hashim Amla man of the match ($10 at Sportsbet)

The Aussie selections for Adelaide have a decidedly ‘clean slate’ kind of feel.

People have talked about the likes of Handscomb, Maddinson and Sayers for years, but nobody had gambled on them until now.

Will this bold approach actually make a difference to the end result?

One of the big issues in Australian cricket right now is stability, especially in the batting order, and making five changes at once hardly helps in that regard.

There are also questions over the leadership of Steven Smith and Darren Lehmann, so changing other individuals probably won’t fix any problems of that nature.

The South Africans, even accounting for a few wobbles with the bat, have simply outplayed the Aussies on every level.

Whether du Plessis plays or not may not make all that much of a difference, except that his absence might give the hosts an undeserved sense of absolution.

Peter Handscomb top batsman bets

We couldn’t help but feature one of the new boys, and Handscomb is probably the most intriguing of the lot.

The Victorian has been well regarded for a while now, but it was always felt that his wicketkeeping duties hindered his efforts with the bat in first-class cricket.

Matthew Wade returning to state level to take the gloves on a full-time basis for the Bushrangers has given Handscomb the opportunity to flourish with the blade in hand, and he hasn’t half taken it.

Having finished as the third highest run-maker in the Sheffield Shield last season, the 25-year-old has kicked off 2016-17 with scores of 78, 10, 60, and a career-high 215 against New South Wales last week.

With super form coming in and two other Test debutants to line up in the top six, Handscomb offers very good value as a speculative bet in the top runscorer markets.

Odds provided by Sportsbet.com.au:

To score a 50 – $2.50

To score a century – $7

Top Australia batsman – $7

Man of the match – $15