Amla 81*, Shamsi 4 for 72 in pink-ball warm-up game

Scorecard

Chinaman bowler Tabraiz Shamsi put himself in contention for a Test debut with a four-wicket haul in the pink-ball warm-up match at the MCG. Although expensive, Shamsi proved difficult to pick and profited more than any of the other South African bowlers to set up an intriguing selection question for the final Test.

The day-night game could see South Africa make some changes to their attack especially considering Vernon Philander was rested from the warm-up fixture as a precaution. Philander hurt his shoulder during an on-field collision with Australian captain Steve Smith in the Hobart Test. Should Philander's niggle not clear, they might have to look for a third-prong in the pace pack to accompany Kagiso Rabada and Kyle Abbott, who both delivered strong opening spells.

Rabada's four-over burst brought three wickets, including Rob Quiney's. The left-hander scored nine, exactly the same number of runs he made against South Africa in the only Test he has played, in 2012. Abbott was economical and found some nip, but more eyes were on Morne Morkel, the only quick to deliver more than one spell.

Concerns over match fitness had kept Morkel out of the first two Tests and he sought to allay those with six-overs initially and three more later on. He sent down some testing short balls with no reward. Reserve bowler Dwaine Pretorius delivered six impressive overs - he pitched the ball up and managed to nip it around a touch - but it seems unlikely he will be promoted into the Test XI.

The real debate will be over Shamsi and left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj, who hasn't done much wrong in the two matches he has played. Both were expensive in this game, but Shamsi made more of an impact. He bowled Sam Harper and Blake Thompson and his variations proved tough for the Victoria batsmen to read as they folded up for 258. Seb Gotch (53), Matthew Short (52) and Evan Gulbis (53) scored half-centuries.

South Africa opted to bat under lights but before they could take full effect, their struggling opener Stephen Cook had been dismissed. Not for the first time on this tour, Cook was found wanting with his footwork and faced 18 balls before he was trapped lbw on the backfoot for 11. His opening partner Dean Elgar found the going much easier and retired on 40 to give the middle-order time at the crease.

Runs were secondary to South Africa's intention to spend time in the middle and Hashim Amla made the most of it. He batted from the eighth over to the end of the innings and scored 81, after being dropped on 17 at first slip.

Amla became more assured as the innings went on and seemed to want to get his eye in, having only contributing 48 runs on the tour so far. He had Temba Bavuma (33*) for company after JP Duminy (17) and Faf du Plessis (12) were both dismissed cheaply. Duminy was caught at slip while du Plessis fell to a half-hearted pull shot. Bavuma batted through the twilight period with characteristic caution. Quinton de Kock opted not to play the game at all.