Rain threatens Australia's chances to rebound in the series at Hobart

Australia’s chances of rebounding in the series after the defeat against South Africa in the second Test at Hobart may get tougher as the weather forecast for the weekend doesn’t seem bright. Heavy downpours are forecast through to Monday’s third day in Hobart, which doesn’t bode well for Australia as they bid to recover from their 177-run thrashing in Perth – their fourth straight Test defeat.

Amid this rain threat, Skipper Steven Smth is taking absolute care of not making any selection mistakes ahead of the pivotal Hobart game, the second of three Tests. He confirmed that number five batsman Adam Voges was fit to play after hamstring trouble and indicated Australia may line up with six recognized batsmen, and just four bowlers. This decision directly puts in danger the places of all-rounder Mitchell Marsh and spinner Nathan Lyon.

“No decision yet (on the team), waiting until the morning, having a look at the wicket again and the forecast as well,” Smith told reporters at Bellerive. The forecast isn’t great for the next couple of days so we’ll wait until the toss.”

Asked about going in with just four bowlers, as rain delays should mean they will get plenty of rest, Smith said: “Not sure, that’s up to the selectors and they’ll decide on the match day. We’ll wait and see. Anything’s possible, it’ll wait till the morning.”

While that might not bode well for the chances of Marsh keeping his number six spot, after just one half-century in his last 28 Test innings, Smith remained coy.

“You might not need to have that extra bowling option if there’s going to be lots of rain around and the bowlers are going to get some adequate rest with that,” he said.

“There are possibilities that we could go in with six genuine batsmen but we’ll wait and see in the morning.”

Australia was forced into two changes from the Perth Test line-up with opener Shaun Marsh breaking a finger and paceman Peter Siddle suffering a back strain. Joe Burns is expected to open the innings with David Warner, while Joe Mennie is likely to make his Test debut. Tasmanian paceman Jackson Bird has been added to the squad.

Selectors also initially included Callum Ferguson as cover for Voges, so he could also be an option if Australia decides on an extra batsman for the Hobart fixture.

Australia: David Warner, Joe Burns, Usman Khawaja, Steven Smith (capt), Adam Voges, Callum Ferguson, Mitchell Marsh, Peter Nevill, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Joe Mennie, Nathan Lyon, Jackson Bird.