Marcus Stonis, Mitchell Swepson are Shane Warne’s smokies to tour South Africa

TEST legend SHANE WARNE says there are a number of players selectors must pick for Australia’s tour of South Africa, including a couple of talented all-rounders and an unheralded spinner. SEE WARNIE’ SQUAD

THE Boxing Day Test was a fizzer and mainly because of the MCG pitch.

When I looked at it on day one, I thought it was a one-day strip.

I don’t mind pitches starting as flat as it did, but it has to eventually turn, or break up, or do something. Unfortunately, drop-in pitches usually don’t change.

Two of the past four MCG Tests have been draws, so if pitches continue to be produced like this then it’s worth considering a day/night Boxing Day Test.

More than 260,000 people attended the Test and you have to give the fans entertainment.

Maybe next year’s Test against India could be a day-nighter. We want that to be a great game.

VOTE: WARNE WANTS MCG TEST TO BE DAY-NIGHT GAME

FIRED-UP: SMITH SLAMS PITCH AFTER SAVING DAY

ANALYSIS: FOURTH TEST PLAYER RATINGS

Twelve months can be a long time in cricket and things have fallen into place for this Australian side to be the best we’ve had for a while — a lot better than this time last year, for sure.

Take out this dull MCG draw and Australia has played great cricket this series, won the Ashes, and has almost the complete outfit to take to South Africa to not just compete strongly, but win.

There are only two question marks.

The middle-order has done well. Steve Smith has been unbelievable, then Shaun Marsh, Tim Paine and now Mitchell Marsh. It’s a very good four, five, six and seven, and we have the best bowling attack in the world.

Cameron Bancroft has technical deficiencies. Picture: Michael Klein

Cameron Bancroft and Usman Khawaja are the only players not to have absolutely locked down their positions in the team.

After the first Test, we thought Bancroft could be an opener who would work with David Warner, but I think he has some technical deficiencies against good bowling when the ball moves a little, and South Africa has a good attack.

He’s got to sort those issues out quickly.

Bancroft is a good player, but he has got a bit of work to do before he’s an automatic selection.

Khawaja has a lot of talent but, to me, he’s lazy. He needs to be more urgent, be busier when he is batting. He needs better match awareness, too.

There were runs on offer in the first innings and he was content to block the ball.

He needs more intensity when he starts.

It’s just that top order — another opener and No.3 — that I have any concerns about. If those guys come good, it’s great, we’ve got a very good side again.

SCROLL DOWN TO SEE SHANE WARNE’S AUSSIE SQUAD FOR SOUTH AFRCIA. HAS HE GOT IT RIGHT? TELL US WHAT YOU THINK

Bancroft and Khawaja have done enough to say they will start in the first Test in South Africa in March. They’ve been part of a winning Ashes series, after all.

But in the selectors’ minds they will have to be thinking about a back-up if they don’t perform early in South Africa.

Right now, the most likely guys are players who have been dropped before, and recently, too. That’s Peter Handscomb, Joe Burns and Glenn Maxwell, who did pretty well during his time in the side compared to a few others. They might get on the plane to South Africa.

Usman Khawaja is lazy and needs to be more attacking. Picture: AAP

But the man for me is Marcus Stoinis, and I look at him as a batsman first. His all-rounder skills are a bonus.

The way he gets his runs could be really important and I like his calmness. I’d have him in the squad for South Africa. He’s a back-up batsman, he’s a great utility player and his bowling is getting better.

We have seen enough of him in international cricket to know he has the temperament needed at the highest level. He is one of those players who, when he makes the step up, his game will step up, too.

He should be in the Australian one-day team later this summer to show us more of what he can do.

And having someone like Stoinis around means you have options in the side.

If, for instance, Khawaja doesn’t make many runs early in South Africa, you could easily move Shaun Marsh up to No.3 and bat Stoinis at five.

But you could also bat Mitchell Marsh at No.5, Tim Paine at six and Stoinis at seven, to ease him into it. That provides two extra seamers if you want to play two spinners.

Marcus Stoinis has the temperament to succeed at Test level. Picture: Getty Images

It offers flexibility to have a guy like Stoinis and I would like to see him selected.

He’s like Mitch Marsh, who I think is a different player this time around at Test level. He looks more organised.

The selectors have had an excellent summer and I think they have regained the confidence of the players.

When you have guys like Greg Chappell and Mark Waugh involved, they know the game and you can trust them. You can understand why they make certain selections. There was no consistency before and that upset a lot of the players.

The players can understand selections now.

And when you take away all those rumblings off the field, the squad becomes a really strong group.

They have made the right call to bring Ashton Agar into the squad for the SCG Test, too. He’s a really good cricketer. It would be great to see him spin the ball a bit more and he’s not quite good enough to play as an out-and-out spinner or a No.6 batsman — yet — but as a second spinner and batting seven or eight, he’s perfect.

He’s a fine athlete, a good fielder and he could become a genuine all-rounder.

The more opportunities he gets when the conditions suit, the better.

There is a lot of interest in leggie Mitchell Swepson, too. I like him, but it’s hard to judge his development from watching him in T20 cricket.

Mitchell Swepson is still learning his craft. Picture: AAP

He needs to play loads of Sheffield Shield games to really learn his craft. He’s the leading Shield wicket-taker this season, a sign he’s heading in the right direction.

If we take a squad of 15 to South Africa, take him as the 16th man. He can be around the group, bowling to the guys. I would include him on a lot of tours, like last year when he went to India and Bangladesh, even though he didn’t play. He’s worth the investment.

Jon Holland is the other spinner in the mix. He is a very good bowler — better than Agar — but you can’t have only one skill in modern cricket and Agar looks a better prospect, a better package to invest time into.

Australia is in the best position it’s been in for a while as a Test team.

If the top order can consolidate, we will get back to No.1 in the world.

We have played well against England, but we always play well in Australia.

The next series will be a real test, but the last time we went to South Africa, we won.

There should be no fears going there this time around.

WARNE’S SQUAD FOR SOUTH AFRICA

THE XI

David Warner, Cameron Bancroft, Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith (c), Shaun Marsh

Mitchell Marsh, Tim Paine, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood

PLUS

Extra batters: (one of) Peter Handscomb/Joe Burns/Glenn Maxwell

Extra bowlers: Jackson Bird & Nathan Coulter-Nile

AND

Marcus Stoinis

WITH THE 16TH MAN

Mitchell Swepson