Ring out the old, ring in the new. The seasonal message has been reverberating around Sydney Cricket Ground, where Michael Clarke and Mitchell Johnson flashed a warning to England that they could be facing a rejuvenated Australia in this summer’s Ashes series. The past, the present and the future of Australia are on trial in the third and final Test against South Africa, now that series defeats by India and Graeme Smith’s team in the past two months have questioned their status as the best team in the world.

Time may be up for Matthew Hayden, one of the last representatives of a glorious past after the retirements of Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Adam Gilchrist and Justin Langer in the past two years. Hayden, 37, looked a shadow of the domineering opening batsman he once was as he struggled to 31, his highest score of the series, before dragging a ball from Dale Steyn on to his stumps. He will be lucky to make the forthcoming tour to South Africa, never mind the Ashes.

The present did not fare too well, either. Ricky Ponting, whose captaincy, if not his batting, is being seriously questioned, fell for his second first-ball duck of the series and Mike Hussey, whose batting average has dropped from 80 to 60 in the past 12 months, appeared almost as desperate as Hayden before edging a straight ball from Paul Harris, the left-arm spinner, to Jacques Kallis at first slip.

The future, though, looked brighter than many imagine as Clarke, the captain-in-waiting, shared partnerships of 75 with Brad Haddin and 142 with Johnson to lead Australia to a total of 445 and a chance of avoiding a third defeat of the series while retaining their world No 1 ranking. For the time being, at least.

Clarke was helped because South Africa had lost some of their intensity after taking a winning 2-0 lead, just as they did in England last summer. They dropped him twice on his way to 138, his tenth Test century and the first on his home ground, but in between times he played superbly, particularly through the off side.

With Haddin, the wicketkeeper, again showing glimpses of why Steve Waugh, the former captain, thinks that he is the best batsman in the country, Johnson, the left-arm fast bowler, proving that he can make runs at No 8 by hitting a career-best 64, and Nathan Hauritz and Peter Siddle, the tailenders, weighing in with a ninth-wicket stand of 59, a new-look Australia were beginning to take shape.

“It’s great for the future of Australian cricket,” Clarke said. “Mitch has been unbelievable, not only with ball but with bat. He’s got pace, he’s improving with each game and learning more and more about how to bowl in Test cricket. Throughout this series we’ve seen guys who haven’t played much Test cricket coming in and putting their hands up. They’re trying to make the most of their opportunities and I think we’re in a good position. We’ve got a lot of talent.”

Johnson also dealt Smith a cruel blow on the second day by breaking the little finger of the South Africa captain’s left hand with a ball that spat at him off a length. Smith, who is going home after this Test for surgery on his right elbow, is expected to be fit for the start of the next series against Australia on February 26, but he was relishing the opportunity of knocking them off the top spot here.

Not that Clarke seemed too bothered about the rankings. “We can’t be concerned about that now,” he said. “It’s for the statisticians to write that up. The teams you play against make the decision about whether you’re the best team in the world.

“For us it’s about playing a strong, positive, great style of Australian cricket. Since I’ve been part of this squad, we’ve always tried to play like that in any form of the game and that’s got to be our priority — to keep playing good cricket and not look too far ahead.”

Sarwan leads way for West Indies

West Indies beat New Zealand by five wickets with one ball remaining in a rain-affected one-day international in Christchurch at the weekend. Ramnaresh Sarwan top-scored with 67 not out as West Indies reached 158 for five off 27.5 overs to clinch the win in a match interrupted for four hours.

With the first match of the five-game series washed out, West Indies lead 1-0 with the third game scheduled for Wednesday in Wellington. New Zealand managed 152 for eight in their innings as they struggled with a soggy outfield. The touring team were given a revised target of 158 to win, under the Duckworth-Lewis system, but Sarwan and Denesh Ramdin, who made 28 not out, saw them home.

Sri Lanka took a stranglehold on the second Test against Bangladesh in Chittagong yesterday thanks to Ajantha Mendis and Muttiah Muralitharan, the spinners. Sri Lanka have a 189-run lead with all their second-innings wickets in hand.