What was supposed to be the climax of a great battle gets under way at the Sydney Cricket Ground tomorrow. But crushing Australian victories at Adelaide and Melbourne mean that this series is already decided, and thoughts are already jumping ahead to the return series in South Africa.Australia have to win that one too to stay top of the ICC Test Championship table.

Steve Waugh will be trying to keep his spikes firmly fixed on Shaun Pollock's windpipe. So there won't be any experiments or New Year presents on offer at smoky Sydney, where the nearby forest fires meant you couldn't see from one end of the Harbour Bridge to the other a couple of days ago.

Some of the Aussies have a score to settle, anyway. Damien Martyn's Test career was put on hold when he was rather unfairly held responsible for the collapse that led to South Africa winning in 1993-94 – Australia's last-but-one Test defeat at the SCG. For all the international experience they have crammed under their belts since then, this South African side doesn't look a patch on that one.

The Australian selectors have only one decision to scratch their heads about. Stuart MacGill is likely to come in on his home ground in place of Andy Bichel, to form a legspin duet with Shane Warne, who made his Test debut at Sydney exactly ten years ago. The last time they played a home Test together, against England at the SCG in 1998-99, MacGill took 12 wickets and Warne two. Then they both went to the Caribbean, and the score was 12-2 again. But that was before Warne returned to full fitness and venom.

MacGill took nine wickets when New South Wales played the South Africans at Sydney recently, but even so he isn't assured of a place. Tom Parker, the curator [groundsman], says the Test pitch is grassier than the tired old one on which the tour game was played. If that's the case Bichel might just get a reprieve and MacGill will return, grumbling, to his state side.

South Africa have more problems. Allan Donald's foot injury is still troubling him, and Makhaya Ntini is standing by. The chances are that Donald will play, but with the series decided it might be more sensible for him to rest until the return bout.

Lance Klusener, whose form has evaporated, has been dropped. In fact he has gone back to South Africa. He explained: "It got to the stage where I said to Fordie [Graham Ford, the SA coach], `I'm not doing myself much good here, and I'm not doing you guys any good either'." Klusener will spend a week at home, spending time with his heavily pregnant wife Isobel and working on his batting in advance of the forthcoming one-day series.

As at Melbourne South Africa also have to consider the merits of Boeta Dippenaar and Jacques Rudolph. At the moment Dippenaar is overplaced at No. 3 – Jacques Kallis is the natural choice for that vital spot – but in his four innings he has fallen to three astonishing catches. Dippenaar is the man in possession, although Rudolph can bowl a spot of legspin.

What looks suspiciously like a panic call has gone out to Nicky Boje, the left-arm spinner who had to drop out of the original tour party with a knee injury. Boje, who was due to join the one-day team next week anyway, arrived in Sydney today, and will play alongside his replacement Claude Henderson if the pitch looks like a turner. But the Australian batsmen won't be losing much sleep at the prospect of facing both Boje and Henderson. It would be like pitting a couple of Morris Minors against the all-Ferrari line-up of Warne and MacGill.

Teams
Australia (probable) 1 Justin Langer, 2 Matthew Hayden, 3 Ricky Ponting, 4 Mark Waugh, 5 Steve Waugh (capt), 6 Damien Martyn, 7 Adam Gilchrist (wk), 8 Shane Warne, 9 Brett Lee, 10 Stuart MacGill, 11 Glenn McGrath.

South Africa (probable) 1 Gary Kirsten, 2 Herschelle Gibbs, 3 Boeta Dippenaar, 4 Jacques Kallis, 5 Neil McKenzie, 6 Mark Boucher (wk), 7 Shaun Pollock (capt), 8 Nicky Boje, 9 Claude Henderson, 10 Allan Donald, 11 Nantie Hayward.

Steven Lynch is database director of Wisden.com. Look out for his live reports throughout the Sydney Test, plus Ian Healy's comments Session by Session and Gideon Haigh's Wisden Verdict at the close each day.

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