Australia, insurance, car, home, live, holidays

Not happy:Steve Smith speaks to the media after the Second Test loss.Credit:Getty Images

These are desperate times for Australian cricket,with more than half the team fighting for their Test future in the Shield this week. It could be a dramatically different looking XI that takes to the field in Adelaide next week fighting to avoid Australia's first whitewash on home soil.

The Hobart hammering,by an innings and 80 runs,was Australia's fifth loss on the trot,handing South Africa their third consecutive series victory on these shores. It consigned Australia to their worst start to a home summer since 1988 when the mighty West Indies trounced Allan Border's men in Brisbane and Perth.

That was a time when the country became accustomed to Border playing lone hands to rescue his team. In Hobart,Smith cut a similar image,watching helplessly from the other end as 13 wickets fell around him.

The frustration was evident after the game when the usually mild-mannered Smith could not hide his exasperation with a team,he said,that was not willing to do the hard yards.

Skittled for 85 in the first dig,Australia lost their final eight wickets for 32 runs – the latest in a long list of diabolical collapses stemming back to the start of 2013.

South Africa's Kyle Abbott celebrates after dismissing Adam Voges.Credit:AP

Adam Voges'Test career appears doomed after another failure while Joe Burns,Callum Ferguson,Peter Nevill,Nathan Lyon and Joe Mennie cannot be assured their positions.

Making it more difficult for selectors,unlike previous eras there is no ready-made panacea to Australia's batting woes in the Shield.

Kurtis Patterson,Cameron Bancroft,Nic Maddinson,Peter Handscomb,Jake Lehmann,Travis Head and Marcus Stoinis will have their names discussed though all would be speculative picks. Gloveman Matthew Wade and spinners Stephen O'Keefe and Ashton Agar are also close to call-ups.

"There are some guys there that are scoring some big runs on occasions and then probably not being as consistent as they would like to put their names up there,that's what I mean when I say no one is really jumping out of the pack and getting big 100s or three 100s in a row,"Smith said.

"At the moment what we've got going on is not working so it might be about getting some younger guys in and getting some experience at this level ... guys might really step up to the plate and step up to the level of international cricket."

If Australia's batsmen needed an example of how to dig in,they need only follow their leader,who was prepared to go scoreless for 13 overs either side of stumps if it meant surviving some high-class pace bowling from South Africa. Smith faced more balls and spent more time at the crease than any of his teammates.

"It is not working. So,obviously on the back of five losses,there is going to be a lot talked about in regards to selection,"Smith said.

"And we've got to start finding a way to turn things around. Whether the ball is seaming or spinning or swinging we don't have an answer at the moment.

"We are not resilient enough,we are not digging in enough,we are not having the pride in our wicket ... and something has got to change.

"We have got to play a lot better than we have been if we are going to beat any opposition around the world at the moment."

Smith wants players who were"willing to get into the contest"and show pride in wearing the baggy green.

License this article