Australia announces two big changes for the final Test at Sydney

Nic Maddinson, the New South Wales middle order batsman, paid the price for the string of poor scores and has been subsequently left out of the 13-member squad for the third and final Test against Pakistan in Sydney. Fast bowler Chadd Sayers has been cut out from the scheme of things.

Left arm spinners Ashton Agar and Steve O’Keefe will fill their places in the team. The announcement came soon after their stunning win in the second Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday (December 30). has also been left out of the squad

Nic Maddinson was a surprise inclusion in Australia’s Test squad against South Africa in 2016-17 but registered a duck on debut and followed it up with scores of 1, 4 and 22 in the next two Tests. He was skating on thin ice before the start of the just concluded 2nd Test at MCG and a solid performance was being expected from him in order to justify his place in the side.

Australia had a big total on the board and he had plenty of time to make runs on a batsman-friendly track. However, he made just 22 before misreading a slider from leggie Yasir Shah and being bowled thus burning the last opportunity to stay in the team.

Off-spinner Nathan Lyon was another player who had his fate hanging on the performance in the Test. Luckily, ‘Garry’ was able to do it. In fact did it in style, breaking the back of the Pakistan batting order with the highly important wickets of Younis Khan, Misbah ul Haq and Asad Shafiq to open the floodgates for Mitchell Starc to clean up the lower order finish a miraculous win.

Squad: Steve Smith (c), Ashton Agar, Jackson Bird, Hilton Cartwright, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Steve O’Keefe, Matt Renshaw, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner.