Josh Hazlewood is hopeful he can reassert his place in Australia's bowling attack ahead of the third and final Test against South Africa.
With Australia having already wrapped up a series victory following an impressive rout at the MCG, Pat Cummins' side head to Sydney in search of a clean sweep.
Injuries to Cameron Green and Mitchell Starc have seen Ashton Agar and Matt Renshaw handed red-ball recalls for the match, while Scott Boland has impressed through the series, but Hazlewood will hope he can rediscover his form after returning from injury.
Having missed the majority of a home Ashes series just over a year ago, Hazlewood played only two Tests in 2022, though the paceman believes he still has a valuable position in the pecking order.
"I still feel like it's in place," Hazlewood told reporters. "It's always good to have pressure It's great to have options, and it keeps you on your toes.
"[Injuries have been] frustrating, definitely. I don't feel like I've been injured much. It just happens to be at the wrong time of the year.
"The Test matches are so close together now. Apart from that, [for] the rest of the 24 months I've been fit and firing. So it's frustrating when you think about it like that."
Green and Starc's absence will possibly open the door for Hazlewood to feature, though he will face increased competition again when the two return.
But the focus will be on ensuring a whitewash against the Proteas at the SCG, where Australia have lost just one of their last 21 Tests.
Australia have won their last three men’s Tests against South Africa at home, the last and only time they recorded a longer winning run against the Proteas in such fixtures was an eight-match span from February 1911 to December 1952.
South Africa meanwhile risk losing a fifth straight Test, matching the rough run they endured between February and October 2019.
Khawaja heads to happy hunting ground
While his team-mates have been racking up big scores against the Proteas, Usman Khawaja has struggled for form across the series, with a total of 14 runs over three innings.
But he heads to a venue with rich pickings. Just 33 runs away from 4,000 in international red-ball cricket, his Test average at the SCG of 98.3 is the third-best of any player at the stadium, behind Wally Hammond and Sachin Tendulkar.
Nortje out to frustrate foes again
It has been a humbling experience for South Africa with bat and ball, but Anrich Nortje will hope at least to continue being a thorn in the side of opposition orders in 2023.
Batters played and missed at 19 per cent of balls he bowled in Tests in 2022, the highest rate of any player.
RB Leipzig 2-0 Eintracht Frankfurt: Nkunku and Szoboszlai strikes ensure DFB-Pokal defence
Christopher Nkunku and Dominik Szoboszlai scored as RB Leipzig retained the DFB-Pokal with a hard-fought 2-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt in Saturday's final at the Olympiastadion.
Nkunku – playing what will likely be his final game for Leipzig amid suggestions he is set to join Chelsea – beat Kevin Trapp with a deflected effort 71 minutes into a tight encounter in Berlin.
Leipzig were rarely threatened by an uninspired Eintracht team, and Marco Rose's men wrapped up the victory when Nkunku turned provider, teeing up Szoboszlai to score five minutes from time.
That meant Leipzig capped a third-placed Bundesliga finish with a second major trophy in as many seasons, while Oliver Glasner's final game in charge of Eintracht was one to forget.
Timo Werner spurned a glorious chance to put Leipzig ahead after four minutes, side-footing straight at Trapp following a lightning counter-attack.
Randal Kolo Muani hit the side netting from a tight angle and Nkunku forced Tuta into a last-ditch block at the other end, but both sides struggled to break their opponents down in a cagey first half.
Eintracht's threat grew after the interval, but Mario Gotze volleyed straight at Janis Blaswich when presented with their best sight of goal, and Glasner's side were swiftly punished.
There was a huge stroke of fortune as Nkunku struck first, the Frenchman cutting in from the left before seeing his shot take two deflections to beat the unfortunate Trapp.
Eintracht never looked like fighting back from there, though, and Leipzig put the result beyond all doubt when Szoboszlai fired into the bottom-left corner after composed play by Nkunku.
Torino 0-1 Inter: Brozovic strike sees Nerazzurri warm up for Champions League final in style
Inter warmed up for the Champions League final with a 1-0 win over Torino to cap off their Serie A campaign.
The Nerazzurri head to Istanbul to face Manchester City on June 10, but the Coppa Italia winners had league business to attend to on Saturday.
Marcelo Brozovic's excellent strike proved the difference, with substitute goalkeeper Alex Cordaz making a superb save to preserve Inter's lead in the second half.
Inter will face an altogether tougher test in a week's time, but for now, Simone Inzaghi can reflect on a job well done in Serie A.
Romelu Lukaku sparked what had been an insipid first half into life when he crafted space on the edge of Torino's area and saw a low strike deflected just wide.
Stefan de Vrij headed straight at Vanja Milinkovic-Savic from the resulting corner, but Torino's goalkeeper was beaten in the 37th minute.
Given space and time on the edge around 20 yards out, Brozovic punished Torino with a fine left-footed strike that nestled in the bottom-right corner.
Brozovic turned provider shortly after the restart, only for Roberto Gagliardini to head wide from close range.
Ex-Inter forward Yann Karomah almost made an instant impact from the bench when he forced a fine save out of Samir Handanovic, who subsequently received an ovation when he made way for Cordaz in the 65th minute.
Cordaz made a stunning save soon after, reacting brilliantly to parry Antonio Sanabria's effort wide and ensure Inter ended their domestic campaign with a victory.
Hope says focus is on development ahead of UAE series opener
West Indies ODI captain Shai Hope hopes to see development when his team takes on the UAE in three ODIs starting at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Sunday.
The regional side will take on the UAE in three ODIs from June 4-9 before making the journey to Zimbabwe to take part in the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifiers from June 18-July 9.
The squad for the UAE series will be missing some of the players who participated in the Indian Premier League (IPL) which ended last week, meaning several new players will get an opportunity to represent the region on the biggest stage.
“I just see it as another series,” said the 29-year-old in an interview on Saturday.
“Every time we step onto the park the aim is to perform for West Indies and it gives some new guys an opportunity to showcase their skills on the world stage,” he added.
The squad will also include some players who have been selected for the qualifiers and Hope wants them to use this opportunity as preparation for the task at hand.
“For the members of the qualifiers squad, it gives us some prep leading into that important task,” said Hope before he reiterated the importance of development.
“Just want to see the guys continue to grow. The main thing for me is development. Over time, we’re going to get better and hopefully that one percent can be shown here in UAE,” he added.
Hope, the 12th ranked ODI batsman in the world according to the latest ICC rankings, also described working with new head coach, Daren Sammy.
“I can definitely commend the communication. I see everyone being clear and frank; that’s one of the main principles here. We haven’t had many training sessions to focus on more physical stuff. It’s been, more so, based around the mental side of the game. We know that Sammy loves his stats and his planning so we’re all on the same page where we’re looking to move West Indies cricket forward,” Hope said.
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