Australian great Usman Khawaja has thrown a fresh curveball at selectors ahead of Tuesday’s third and final Test against South Africa, calling for left-arm spinner Matt Kuhnemann to enter the selection conversation.
The selectors’ decision to drop veteran off-spinner Nathan Lyon for Scott Boland in the second Test sent shockwaves through Australian cricket, marking the first time in 13 years the 38-year-old had been overlooked for a red-ball Test while fit.
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Boland’s inclusion paid immediate dividends, with the Victorian veteran claiming his third five-wicket haul at Test level before making a valuable contribution with the bat as nightwatchman in the second innings. However, the bold selection call also left Australia without a frontline spinner — a decision that wasn’t without its drawbacks.
As another selection headache looming ahead of the series finale in Cape Town, Khawaja believes a third option has been largely overlooked in the debate surrounding Australia’s bowling attack.
And it’s not Lyon.
“We’ve talked about Boland and Lyon (in the second Test), and not once have people really mentioned Kuhnemann,” Khawaja told foxsports.com.au.
“Kuhnemann is a terrific bowler, a Test bowler. He has a Test five-fa, and done really well for Australia when he’s played. He’s been a terrific bowler for a while.
“With the South Africans having the majority of their players as right-handers, I’m not really sure why people aren’t bringing him into contention.”
After bursting onto the Test scene in 2023 with figures of 5/16 in just his second match, Kuhnemann has proven himself a reliable left-arm orthodox option across his five red-ball matches for Australia.
His last appearance in the Test side was against Sri Lanka back in February 2025, where he took 16 wickets across the two-match series in Galle.
“He’s a terrific bowler to keep things tight, much like what (Simon) Harmer did with our batsmen last game. I think the reason they picked Harmer last game was because we have so many left-handed batsmen. When the ball’s spinning away, it’s always slightly harder to score,” Khawaja continued.
“I think Kuhnemann presents the same option, and when it’s spinning too, he is a very, very good bowler.
“I know Nathan Lyon’s the ‘GOAT’, and there’s nothing against the GOAT! This is purely based on the fact the South Africans have so many right-handers in their team. I think Kuhnemann deserves to be talked about.”
It remains extremely unlikely that both Lyon and Kuhnemann would take to the field together in the series finale, however the Proteas did pair both Harmer and veteran left-armer Keshav Maharaj in Durban for the first Test.
Subsequently, how Australia best deploys its bowling attack in Cape Town remains to be seen, as selectors juggle a number of other questions around opener Nic Maddinson, first drop bat Marnus Labuschagne and the make-up of their middle order with Cam Green expected to return from injury.
The former looks the likeliest to be omitted from Australia’s XI on Tuesday, with Khawaja believing he was better-placed to return in the middle order instead of opening.
“No discredit to Nic Maddinson. I think Maddinson is terrific. I actually would have put him in the middle order at the start of the series, purely based on the fact the opening is so hard of a gap to fill,” Khawaja said.
“Nic got thrown up there and he didn’t even get to face a spinner. He smacks spin too. He actually clobbers them for six, so kind of disappointed I didn’t see that the first two games.”
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