Glenn McGrath 12th man?

It hasn't happened in quite some time but it's one of the possible scenarios if the Adelaide Oval pitch lives up to its reputation when the first Test between Australia and South Africa starts on Friday.

With Stuart MacGill recalled to the Australian team for the Test match, there's every indication Australia will pick two spinners - MacGill and Shane Warne.

Australia wouldn't countenance a five-man bowling attack - especially with Mark Waugh's part-time spin to call on - which means one of the three fast bowlers looks like missing out.

It would be hard on any one of McGrath, Brett Lee or Jason Gillespie to sit on the sidelines but national selection chairman Trevor Hohns said the best team for the conditions would be picked.

"There's no doubt it will harsh on whoever misses out but that's always the case," Hohns said.

"We are committed to picking the team to suit the conditions."

He said the final decision on the team make-up wouldn't be made until the match selection committee had taken a good look at the Adelaide Oval pitch.

Early indications were it would be a spinner's paradise.

Given that Adelaide is Gillespie's home town, there would be a near riot at the Victor Richardson gates if he was omitted.

Despite his fine for churlish on-field behaviour in Perth, it would be equally hard to leave out Lee, who was the leading wicket-taker in the series against New Zealand.

While McGrath maintains he is good form, he looked down on motivation in the final Test against New Zealand and also suffered from back spasms which kept him out of the action for most of day one in Perth.

He is such a proven performer for Australia it would also be a tough decision to end his sequence of 41 consecutive Tests.

The other option would be to go in with a five-man bowling attack, especially as Australia struggled to bowl out New Zealand in their rain-affected series.

That would mean dropping a specialist batsman, like Damien Martyn, and using Adam Gilchrist at No.6. With Lee broaching genuine all-rounder class, the batting would still have some depth to it.

However, Australian captain Steve Waugh is not a big fan of five-man bowling attacks and it seems the least likely outcome.

Of course, MacGill could yet end up being 12th man if the pitch looks livelier than predicted.

© 2001 AAP