Michael Clarke has passed a fitness test on his injured thumb and will line up in the opening match of the one-day series with SA.
Twenty20 sensation David Warner, who had been placed on standby for Clarke, has been released from the Australia squad and was expected to return to Sydney this afternoon.
Queensland quick Ryan Harris has been left out of the 12 named for the match, with the make-up of the final 11 to be determined, according to skipper Ricky Ponting, by the conditions.
Clarke underwent a 30-minute test at the MCG today before joining his team mates in the nets.
"He'll be fine to play," said Ponting. "He's completed all his training well today.
But he agreed that Twenty20 cricket will have a growing influence generally on the way the 50-over game is played.
Ponting insists Australia must be at their best to beat the Proteas in the series but is confident the squad is talented enough in the absence of injured regulars such as Andrew Symonds, Shane Watson and Brett Lee, to perform well.
"The energy and enthusiasm of some of the young guys around out squad has been terrific," he added.
"We've got a very flexible squad, a lot of versatility around our group at the moment which is a massive bonus for 50-over cricket.
"Everything's heading in the right direction as far as our 50-over cricket is concerned."
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