Scott Boland has kept his place in Australia's team for the Boxing Day Test, with Josh Hazlewood withdrawing from contention.
Boland has been in fine form since coming into Australia's Test team, taking 25 wickets in five appearances in the format at an average of 10.36.
The 33-year-old fast-medium pacer took 4-42 in Australia's six-wicket defeat of South Africa in Brisbane in the opening match of the series, but might well have lost his place to Hazlewood in Melbourne.
But Hazlewood, who has been recovering from a side strain, elected to withdraw from contention as he felt "underdone", earning the praise of captain Pat Cummins.
"We gave Joshy every chance,, it just got to a stage where he more than anyone else felt like he was a little bit underdone," Cummins said.
"It's a mark of the man really, he himself said 'don't feel quite right' so he kind of pulled himself out of selection.
"We talk a lot about how as a team we need a squad mentality and I think it's another great example."
Hazlewood trained well before the match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, but Cummins explained a decision between the veteran campaigner and Boland did not have to be made in the end.
"We didn't really get to the decision point, we gave it enough time and it played out," Cummins said.
"There would have been a part of everyone that would've felt a little bit aggrieved if Scott missed out."
Australia opener David Warner, meanwhile, is set to hit the landmark of 100 Tests after keeping his place at the top of the order.
South Africa captain Dean Elgar did not reveal his starting XI, as he urged his batters to step up as the Proteas aim to keep their chances in the series alive.
But he conceded their batters must improve with the series on the line.
"We've always been in a good space since we've been in Australia," Elgar told reporters.
"We've just been through a bit of a hurdle in the last week – but I think both batting units have been through that.
"We've started afresh and we know runs on the board is key.
"We've had a few good conversations but at the moment talk is cheap. Your best reference point is putting performances on the board."
Australia XI to face South Africa: David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland
Proteas recall Bavuma and Nortje for Netherlands ODI series
Temba Bavuma and Anrich Nortje have been recalled to South Africa's ODI squad for the upcoming series with the Netherlands.
Captain Bavuma was rested while pace bowler Nortje was injured for the final ODI against West Indies last week as South Africa levelled the series with a four-wicket victory.
But the pair will return for the two-match series with the Netherlands, which gets underway on Friday in Benoni, as South Africa look to boost their chances of reaching the World Cup in India later this year.
South Africa will seal their place at the tournament if they win the Netherlands series. If they fail to do so, however, they will be forced into a qualifying tournament in Zimbabwe in order to reach the World Cup.
The Proteas are riding the crest of a wave after a stunning six-wicket T20I win over West Indies on Sunday, recording the highest successful run chase in the format's history as Quinton de Kock's brilliant century saw them chase down 259.
After their first meeting in Benoni, South Africa and the Netherlands will renew acquaintances at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg on April 2.
Matthews named player of the tournament as Mumbai Indians win inaugural WPL
The Mumbai Indians are champions of the inaugural season of the Tata Women’s Premier League after a seven-wicket win over the Delhi Capitals at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday.
The Capitals, who advanced to the final after finishing top-of-the-table in the league phase, made 131-9 off their 20 overs after winning the toss and batting first.
Captain Meg Lanning led the way with 35 while Shikha Pandey and Radha Yadav each made 27*.
Hayley Matthews was magnificent with the ball for Mumbai, picking up three wickets in her four overs while conceding only five runs. Issy Wong also continued her wicket-taking form with 3-42 from her spell.
The successful Mumbai chase took 19.3 overs and was anchored by Nat Sciver-Brunt, who finished not out on 60 off 55 balls including seven fours. Captain Harmanpreet Kaur made a 39-ball 37 in support as the Indians reached 134-3.
Sciver-Brunt was named player of the match while Matthews, who ended the season with 271 runs and 16 wickets, was named player of the tournament.
Her run total placed her fifth overall behind Lanning (345), Sciver-Brunt (332), Talia McGrath (302) and Kaur (281) while her 16 wickets were joint-most alongside Sophie Ecclestone.
Fowler yet to miss as West Coast Fever hold off GIANTS 74-73 to go 2-0 in Suncorp Super Netball League
Jhanielle Fowler was perfect from the field and needed to be as the defending Suncorp Super League Netball Champions West Coast Fever held off GIANTS to win by a single goal 74-73 on Saturday at the Ken Rosewall Arena.
The Fever’s shooters missed just once with Sasha Glasgow scoring five goals from her six attempts and hit crucial super shots in the thrilling encounter that ended with the defending champions going 2-0 in their first two games of the season. They won both games by one goal.
Reigning MVP Fowler scored 59 goals from as many attempts and has now scored 167 straight goals without a miss in the league. Her last miss came during the first quarter of last season’s final.
The GIANTS welcomed back Maddie Hay and Jo Harten into their line-up and they proved to be exactly what their team needed. Still, the Fever led 21-20 at the end of the first quarter.
On the back of Fowler’s accurate shooting, the Fever opened up a lead, which extended to as wide as 10 goals but were eventually reeled in by the GIANTS, who were eventually outscored 19-17 in the second quarter to lead by three at the half.
Harten scored 22 goals from 23 attempts and Sophie Dwyer 21 from 24 as GIANTS looked to rally but were forced to depend heavily on super shots to keep them close to the champions who outscored them 23-15 in the third quarter.
However, the GIANTS did rally with Harten and Dwyer shooting the lights out to outscore The Fever 21-11 in the final quarter but the lead proved too much to overcome.
Over at the Nissan Arena, Kadie-Ann Dehaney’s Sunshine Coast Lightning defeated Queensland Firebirds 65-55. Meanwhile, a power outage at the SA Netball Stadium resulted in a 25-25 tie between the Adelaide Thunderbirds and the New South Wales Swifts.
Romelda Aiken-George had scored 15 goals from 19 attempts when the game was called off.
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