Mitchell Johnson: Australia need to make changes for third Test but one thing I know is they will fight hard

The Newlands Test match back in 2011 had it all.

Michael Clarke was peppered but dug in to score his famous 151. We then rolled South Africa, a gun team, for 96, and we let the foot off the gas.

Bowled out for 47 in 18 overs of chaos. It was an embarrassing innings which led to a defeat, a mauling.

We bounced back the next Test. In Johannesburg, Pat Cummins took 6-79 on debut as an 18-year-old and hit the winning runs, and I was 40 not out at the other end.

That’s why, as a former player, I can sit myself in that Aussie dressing room now and know they won’t lay down without a fight come Cape Town.

This series has swung just as hard. Australia won in Durban, then were bowled out for 99 in Gqeberha, followed on and lost by an innings. It’s 1-1, and this third Test is playing out like a final.

There’s been plenty of backlash, but they will still feel in the contest. It’s never over in an Aussie dressing room.

When you pick a squad, you carry extra bats, bowlers, a spinner, whatever it may be, and you hope you don’t have to make too many changes. Australia rarely make more than two under Andrew McDonald’s time as coach.

But in a final scenario, I wonder if the big decisions will be made with someone like Marnus Labuschagne. Do they believe he’s capable of standing up, with all his experience, after what we saw in his second innings in Gqeberha?

Like most former players, I find it hard to read the play on selection at the moment. It doesn’t feel like the typical selection policy of yesteryear. The Nic Maddinson call is a prime example, and so are the floating batting orders.

I’ve run through different batting orders, and to be honest I’ve found it difficult. Marnus is a big issue, and Steve Smith has some concerns around him too, with his neck and not looking comfortable against Kagiso Rabada.

Changing too much now could upset the dynamics of the team. In saying that, bringing Cooper Connolly, Josh Inglis and Cam Green back in could freshen things up.

You could give Maddinson a chance at five, but the thing about playing for Australia is it’s earned, and just handing him that spot isn’t fair on others who want it. My side would be Matt Renshaw and Travis Head to open, Smith at three, Green at four if he’s fit, Inglis at five, Connolly at six, then Alex Carey, Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon and Scott Boland.

If Josh Hazlewood isn’t 100 per cent after his stomach bug, he’s the one who misses out.

I think the selectors are more likely to keep Head opening with Renshaw, Marnus at three and Smith at four, then Green or Maddinson and Inglis or Connolly. If Green can’t bowl, Webster stays.

Then it’s conditions, whether it’s four quicks again or Lyon back in, which I think will happen. The last Test showed they need a frontline spinner. I like a four-pronged pace unit, I just think they read the pitch wrong, and that cost them.

They looked flat in the last Test. Scott Boland was the standout. He took 5-81, then went in as nightwatchman and batted 166 balls for 40. His energy and determination with the bat was impressive, true Aussie grit, and I was proud of how he went about it.

Boland’s record away from home is different to his home stats, but in six Tests outside Australia, including one at a neutral venue, he’s taken 18 wickets at 27. That’s still quality, and most quicks would be very happy with that record.

Where I think he has the edge now is the way he played that Test, with a clear desire not to let South Africa beat him or the team. He showed that putting a price on your wicket is key.

It’s also the way he comes in and bowls. I’m not taking anything away from this bowling line-up, which has done the job nine times out of 10. I just see the passion Boland has playing for Australia.

The coach and captain keep saying selection depends on conditions. I heard the same lines in my playing days, and my answer hasn’t changed. If you’re playing for Australia, your skill set, your desire to compete and win, and your adaptability mean you should be able to play in any conditions.

I will always want the Aussies to win, but they will have to work hard for it if South Africa turn up like they did last Test.

Australia have shown they’re capable of a collapse. The crowd will turn up in Cape Town and I have a feeling they will be onto the Aussies from the boundary.

Maybe Australia needed that devastating defeat in the second Test to wake them up. If it doesn’t motivate them, there could be more changes heading into our summer.

But like I always say, no matter the distractions or team changes, there’s the pride of the baggy green. They are professionals. They know what needs to happen in Cape Town.

Win or lose, this Test could be the start of change for this Australian side.