Will Australia's Test side undergo changes following SA series loss?
What's the story
Australia's Test cricket captain Pat Cummins has hinted at possible changes in the team after their recent defeat against South Africa. The loss, which came on the fifth day of the third Test at Newlands, was Australia's second consecutive defeat in the series. With this victory, South Africa clinched the series 2-1 and overtook Australia to become the new leaders of ICC's Test rankings.
Improvement
We need to get better: Cummins
Despite the defeat, Cummins remains confident in his team's abilities.
"I still think we're a really good side," he told journalists after the match.
However, he also admitted that it was fair to question whether changes were necessary as Australia faces a busy schedule of Test matches over the next year.
"We need to get better if we want to get back to No 1," he said.
Batting woes
Australia's batting performance let the team down, said Cummins
Australia's hopes of chasing down a target of 288 were dashed when Kagiso Rabada took three wickets in his first spell.
The Australian side was bundled out for just 111 runs, with off-spinner Simon Harmer claiming a career-best six wickets.
Cummins admitted that their batting performance let the team down, saying there were "A few really poor decisions." on a challenging day-five pitch.
Decision-making
Did I make a mistake? Cummins admits
Cummins, who won the toss and chose to bowl first, admitted that he may have made a wrong call.
He explained his reasoning by saying he thought the opening-day pitch would be more conducive for bowling than it actually was.
"We probably thought it was going to do a little bit more on day one than it did," Cummins said.
Team changes
Fair to ask questions on changes in the team: Cummins
Responding to calls for changes in the team after two consecutive losses, Cummins said it's fair to ask such questions. He added that they will be asking these questions internally as well.
"We are a very good side, but I think we need to get a little bit better if we want to get back to number one and where we think we can be," he said.
"It's fair to be asking those questions, we'll be asking them internally as well."