The Australian selectors have made as many as six changes as they announced the 12-man squad that will face the Proteas in the third Test of their series at Adelaide.

Australia have already lost the series, having been defeated in the first two matches at Perth and Hobart.

Out of the six players brought into the squad, four – Matt Renshaw, Peter Handscomb, Nic Maddinson, Chadd Sayers – have never played Test cricket before. Matthew Wade and Jackson Bird are the other two players who have been added to the team for the final Test of the series.

While Adam Voges was unavailable for selection after he suffered concussion during a Sheffield Shield game – Joe Burns, Peter Nevill, Callum Ferguson and Joe Mennie have been left out of the squad that will attempt to salvage some pride for the Australians.

There is huge pressure on captain Steve Smith to turn things around and avoid a Test series whitewash at home, something that has never happened in the history of Australian cricket previously.

In fact, Australia have now lost five Test matches in a row which in itself is a huge embarrassment to a team that has dominated world cricket over the last couple of decades.

The third Test will be a day/night encounter at the Adelaide Oval, scheduled to begin on November 24.

SQUAD

Steve Smith (c), David Warner, Matt Renshaw, Usman Khawaja, Peter Handscomb, Nic Maddinson, Matthew Wade (wk), Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon, Jackson Bird, Chadd Sayers.