Neo Workxx » Byung Ho Park?has come to a frustrating early finish

Match factsNovember 24-28, 2016 Start time 1400 local (0330 GMT)Big PictureRemember back in April, when South Africas players were reluctant to accept a day-night Adelaide Test? It could be a series decider, they said, and there could be a No.1 ranking on the line. What quaint, innocent times they were. This series was decided when Australia capitulated in Hobart, and indeed there is a Test ranking up for grabs for the winner of this match, but it is No.4. Still, what both teams wouldnt have given for the pink-ball day-night factor to be the primary focus of this past week. Instead, all anyone has cared about is what South Africas captain sucked in Hobart, and why Australia sucked in Hobart. As for the day-night Test, both teams will just suck it and see.In the end, for all the argy-bargy - both verbal and physical - around the ball-tampering issue, South Africa will have Faf du Plessis available in Adelaide and may or may not change their XI. As for Australia? They will be unrecognisable - and not just to the public. Three debutants - opener Matt Renshaw and middle-order batsmen Peter Handscomb and Nic Maddinson - have been confirmed. Smith even revealed that prior to this week, he had never so much as set eyes on Renshaw. In his column on Cricket Australias website, Smith wrote of the squad convening in Adelaide: I had to quietly ask a couple of the guys who had met Matt beforehand to make sure they pointed him out to me if he happened to walk past.It is a remarkable situation in which the Australians find themselves. Three debutant batsmen in Australias Test top six is exceptionally rare. It last happened during the World Series Cricket divide, and before that in 1946 in the first Test following a six-year hiatus due to World War II. But to find the last occasion that was not caused by external circumstances we must go all the way back to 1936 and Don Bradmans first Test as captain. Even that instance is debatable - it occurred only when the batting order was tweaked in the second innings. Not since 1924 and the shared debut of Bill Ponsford, Victor Richardson and Arthur Richardson has it happened in the first innings.All of this just highlights how extraordinary Australias selection sweep has been this week. South Africas week, too, has been far from normal. But now the focus can shift to the pink-ball day-night Test, the third in the games history. Should South Africa win, they will move to No.4 on the Test rankings and Australia - No.1 earlier this year - will fall to fifth. Then there is the small matter of a possible clean sweep: never in Australias history have they lost every Test of a home series of three or more matches. Never has a dead rubber felt so alive.Form guide(last five completed matches, most recent first) ? Australia: LLLLL South Africa: WWWDWIn the spotlightOne of the most debatable of Australias selection decisions this week was the axing of Peter Nevill, considered the countrys best gloveman and a batsman who had fought in vain for a draw in Perth, and the recall of Matthew Wade. Australias selectors believe that Wades wicketkeeping has improved since he last played a Test in March 2013 and his batting record - two fighting centuries in a 12-Test career - is encouraging. But it also appears that Wades yappy nature behind the stumps is a desired trait, and that Nevill was simply perceived as too quiet. It is also worth noting that Wade is colour blind, yet has been called up for a day-night Test. However, this may be less of a problem than some people think: in his four day-night Sheffield Shield games, Wade has scored 55, 30, 41*, 78 and 26.The leading run scorer in the series, Quinton de Kock has been a constant barrier between Australias bowlers and their hopes of running through the South African lower order. He has piled up 252 at 84.00 from just three Test innings on this trip, and clearly has no problems against the pink ball, having blasted 122 against a Cricket Australia XI in the day-night warm-up game before the first Test. In fact, such has been de Kocks consistency in recent times that if he reaches a half-century in his first innigs in Adelaide, he will join Jacques Kallis and Alan Melville as the only South Africans in history to have passed fifty in six consecutive Test innings.Team newsAustralia confirmed their XI on the eve of the match, with Chadd Sayers named 12th man and Jackson Bird included. It means five changes from their Hobart XI: Matt Renshaw, Peter Handscomb, Nic Maddinson, Matthew Wade and Bird have come in at the expense of Joe Burns, Adam Voges, Callum Ferguson, Peter Nevill and Joe Mennie.Australia 1 David Warner, 2 Matt Renshaw, 3 Usman Khawaja, 4 Steven Smith (capt), 5 Peter Handscomb, 6 Nic Maddinson, 7 Matthew Wade (wk), 8 Mitchell Starc, 9 Josh Hazlewood, 10 Nathan Lyon, 11 Jackson Bird.There is a school of thought that Tabraiz Shamsi, the left-arm wrist-spinner, might come in for this Test due to the difficulty for batsmen in seeing the seam on the pink ball, and therefore picking a wrist-spinners variations.South Africa (possible) 1 Stephen Cook, 2 Dean Elgar, 3 Hashim Amla, 4 JP Duminy, 5 Faf du Plessis (capt), 6 Temba Bavuma, 7 Quinton de Kock (wk), 8 Vernon Philander, 9 Kyle Abbott, 10 Kagiso Rabada, 11 Keshav Maharaj / Tabraiz Shamsi.Pitch and conditionsAn extra two millimetres of grass will be shaved off the Adelaide Oval pitch this year compared to last years inaugural day-night Test in an effort to even up the contest between bat and ball. Still, there should be plenty of seam movement and batsmen will need to work hard both against the new ball, and during the dusk period when the lights first come on. No rain is anticipated over the course of the match.Stats and triviaThis will be Steven Smiths 17th Test as captain, and will take his tally to 28 players used in those Tests. By comparison, Steve Waugh used only 28 players in his entire 57-Test captaincy careerThis will be the 12th consecutive Test in which Australia have used a different XI from their previous matchLast time a team whitewashed Australia in Australia was 1887, when England did it in a two-Test series. It has never happened in a series of three or more TestsPeter Handscomb is the leading run scorer in day-night Sheffield Shield games, with 480 at 60.00. His record at Adelaide Oval is also extremely strong: 479 first-class runs at 68.42QuotesVery important. You want to be part of creating history. Weve played some really good cricket and weve got something going. I dont know how many pink-ball Tests will be played. This could be our first or last. Faf du Plessis, South Africas stand-in captain, on the importance of the match Zack Greinke Jersey . 8 Iowa State on Saturday, sending the Cyclones to their third consecutive loss. The Longhorns (14-4, 3-2) got their biggest win of the season with their third in the row in the Big 12. Arizona Diamondbacks Jerseys . Ivanovic was leading 7-5, 1-0 when Hantuchova withdrew after falling 0-40 behind in the second game. The match started slowly for Ivanovic, who surrendered her first two serves as Hantuchova took a 5-3 lead. http://www.diamondbacksteamshop.com/Diamondbacks-Archie-Bradley-Kids-Jersey/ . He just needed to be his best twisting, turning acrobatic self. "I didnt need to be anybody else, I just needed to be myself and be aggressive," said Burks, who scored a career-high 34 points to spark the Utah Jazz to a 118-103 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Monday night. Clay Buchholz Jersey . Parker had 26 points and eight assists and San Antonio beat Toronto 112-99 Monday night. "We won that game because of Tony Parkers aggressiveness," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "His juice; his aggression all night long. Shelby Miller Jersey . During the athletes parade, the 23-strong Ukrainian team was represented by a lone flagbearer in an apparent protest at the presence of Russian troops in Ukraines Crimean peninsula. A tough season for Minnesota Twins rookie?Byung Ho Park?has come to a frustrating early finish.Park, who has been in the minor leagues since late June, will undergo right wrist surgery Thursday. Park, 30, had been dealing with an injured wrist through much of the season, and it recently has worsened.Its been bothering me, not seriously, but the pains been there from time to time, Park said through an interpreter, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune. After I got sent down to Rochester, the pain got a little worse and I thought it was time to get it checked out.The injury is to a tendon in the bacck of his hand, manager Paul Molitor said, and a specialist recommended the surgery.ddddddddddddA two-time MVP in the Korea Baseball Organization, Park hit .191 with 12 home runs and 24 RBIs in 62 games for the Twins after signing a four-year, $12 million contract in December. He opened the season as the every-day designated hitter and played 24 games at first base.Park hit .224 with 10 homers and 19 RBIs in 31 Triple-A games.The Associated Press contributed to this report. ' ' '