At the outset, I want to dismiss all the fuss around sweets, saliva and shining a cricket ball as a storm in a lolly bag.

I’m happy to admit that I am no academic expert on the impact that sugar can have on the aerodynamics of fast bowling but I’ve played and coached enough cricket to know that the whole thing is a bit ridiculous.

When I was playing, we used to dig into the lolly snakes to keep energy up during a long bowling stint and I’m sure at some stages I would have shined the ball shortly after eating one (or three) without a second thought.

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And to my knowledge, when I was coaching at Yorkshire there was no specific sweets kept in our dressing room that were earmarked for ball shining.

In county cricket you hear all sorts of theories, but from my experience the players that do the best are the consistent performers – the blokes who can bowl a disciplined line and length for as long as possible, and the batsmen who are patient and stick to their process.

They are the ones who find success, not the ones who have a lot of theories on what’s the best way of shining a cricket ball with a sweet in their mouth.

What did strike me as impressive during that whole saga, which has been driven by the ICC and has nothing to do with the Australian team making any accusations or complaints, was the solidarity the South Africans showed for their captain Faf du Plessis.

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They obviously think it’s a load of garbage and have stood firm, as a team and in support of their skipper.

The other point that’s got lost in that debate and the radical shake-up of Australia’s Test and selection personnel is just how well the South Africans have played, especially their pace attack.

Australia have been poor in certain areas, but some of the bowling has been as good as I’ve seen in the past decade of Test cricket.

Where they have excelled is what I often referred to as ‘ruthless simplicity’ – keeping it simple and hammering the process.

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I know the Yorkshire boys used to get sick of me saying ‘process, process, process’, but it’s really important because you don’t want to be thinking of the end result.

The outcome will arrive if you nail the process really well, and I think that’s where Australia have fallen down at times in this series.

As a bowler, what has an even bigger impact than sugary saliva when you’ve got ball in hand is knowing your team’s scored big runs and you’ve got plenty in the bank.

But when you’ve bowled your heart out and then batted poorly, suddenly you’re out there bowling again and that can be very dispiriting and de-motivating.

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People say you should put the scoreboard out of your mind in that situation, but you wonder if a bit of that gets into the psyche of the bowlers.

Then what they try to do is take a wicket every ball and bowl the magic delivery, as opposed to sticking to the process of that disciplined line and length, and building the pressure, and the knowledge that wickets will come.

The pressure is in them to make an impact and they can try too hard, and when you’re trying things you’re looking beyond what needs to be done to get the outcomes you’re after.

Of course, selection is different and when the team’s is performing as poorly as Australia have of late you have to try new thinking, and new players.

So I like the decisions they’ve made to totally revamp the squad for the Adelaide Test and can see the rationale behind those huge changes, even if some of them are a bit unconventional.

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Certainly Peter Handscomb was a lock after his innings for Victoria last week, and some would argue he might well have played before now.

After the Hobart defeat, all young players around the country knew there was an opportunity and he posted a very good double-hundred against a top-shelf New South Wales attack and that spoke for itself.

Nic Maddinson is seen in some quarters as a bit of a surprise and a selection based on potential rather than raw numbers, but clearly the selectors feel he can change the course of a game and the momentum of an innings with his strokeplay.

As for the decision to go with 20-year-old opener Matt Renshaw, I’m really pleased that selectors have made that choice even if some will say ‘hang on, he’s only played a dozen first-class games’.

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There’s been a lot of players who have gone on and played for Australia and had successful careers who haven’t got a lot of first-class cricket behind them.

Ian Healy had just five Sheffield Shield games to his name when he was picked for his Test debut, Steve Waugh had nine and I recall that I’d played only 13.

The fact is the selectors like what they see, and it might be a bit of a punt but they are paid to exercise their judgement and take into account statistics, personality, character and a bit of a gut feel.

The recall of Matthew Wade is another decision not based purely on statistics.

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It appears the selectors want a wicketkeeper that’s a bit more in your face, they want the drummer in the band as opposed to the conductor of the orchestra.

Wadey is a bit more combative, brings a bit more chat whereas Nev is more the conductor – a bit more quiet and unassuming, and just gets his job done.

And I’m really pleased for Chadd Sayers, who is perhaps an old-fashioned swing bowler and has the numbers on the board over a period of time.

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His reward for effort is the chance to make his Test debut on his home ground where he’s bowled so well of late.

You can’t argue it’s a harsh call on a lot of blokes, although Joe Burns would concede he hasn’t had the best of times and Callum Ferguson was unluckily run out and then made a poor decision in not playing the ball as well as he could have.

I think he’s a victim of the selectors’ thinking “we’ve got to plan for the future here and identify a few players who can play in this Australian side long-term, and we don’t see Ferg as that long-term option, so we’re not going down that path’.

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As for big Joe Mennie, I don’t think he did a helluva lot wrong, I just feel the selectors think that in Adelaide – a day-night match with the pink ball under lights - Jackson Bird and Sayers will probably get more movement either off the pitch or through the air.

It’s always tough for guys to come in and play one Test in a side that’s been flogged and then get shunted out of the team, but unfortunately for Ferg and Joe Mennie that’s the way it’s gone.

Callum Ferguson and Joe Mennie have been dumped after making their Test debuts in Hobart // Getty

As for what happens now, well there’s a chance that Australia will lose this Test as well with some new kids in and against a very good South African team.

But with so many new faces in and around the team it’s also an ideal chance to look forward with optimism rather than back with regrets.

The lessons of the Hobart loss, and the four Test defeats before that, will have been learned by those who were part of them but this series is gone and regardless of what happens at Adelaide Oval, South Africa head home with the trophy.

However, there will be all these new faces in the Australian squad that aren’t scarred from recent experiences and there'll be a real sense of optimism in the group that will be exciting for the guys that have played the last few Tests.

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They’ll be lifted by the new guys, because the older hands all know what it’s like to come into that environment for the first time, to go to your first training session, your first team meeting, and the first morning of your debut Test.

So I think there will be a real buzz and energy around the team.

It will be exciting for Steve Smith to have a few new faces there, and it will be great for the support staff to put the last couple of Tests to bed and look forward.

New faces bring that excitement, and seeing young players achieve their dreams and represent their country should mean there’s great cause for optimism from the Australian public and everyone involved with Australian cricket.

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