Australia keep NZealand guessing with spin options

Australia kept New Zealand guessing Thursday as they weighed up using a five-pronged bowling attack in the final Test at Sydney.

The home team, who have comfortably won the first two Tests of the three-match series, have called up leg-spinner Mitchell Swepson who could bowl in tandem with Nathan Lyon, depending on a last-minute pitch inspection on Friday.

"We're just weighing up whether we play the second spinner and if we did, how we would do that," captain Tim Paine told reporters ahead of the game, where both teams will wear black armbands for the victims of Australia's raging bushfires.

"As JL (coach Justin Langer) touched on yesterday, I think at the moment it would be likely that we would go unchanged but there's still a possibility, if we see that wicket tomorrow morning, that we could play another spinner."
"We've got some guys around our squad that could provide quite a bit of flexibility and even with someone like James Pattinson can really lengthen our batting anyway."