Jacques Kallis will play in the third Test in Perth if he is fit enough to bat and field, although he will definitely not bowl. South Africa called up allrounder Ryan McLaren as cover but are hopeful Kallis will be ready to bat at No.4, even after it was revealed that he would have exacerbated his hamstring injury by batting in both innings to help save the Adelaide Test.

Kallis batted nearly two hours in the first innings for 58, and for two and a half hours in the second to make 47. He came in at No. 9 and No. 7 and had match-saving partnerships with Faf du Plessis on each occasion.

Not one to show much emotion, Kallis was in discomfort throughout his time at the crease and battled to run between the wickets. Still, he told team-mates the injury did not cause him even a fraction of the pain he had suffered during a century with a side strain against India in January 2011. Kallis was on the physiotherapist Brandon Jackson's bench for many hours of this Test and will spend more time there in the next three days.

"I know he [Kallis] is working hard with Jacko and I know he wants to be a part of Perth," Graeme Smith said after his team drew the second Test. "He is definitely not going to bowl but he could play as a batter."

If Kallis plays purely as a batsman, South Africa's strategy would be different to the one Australia employed with their allrounder Shane Watson. A calf injury had ruled Watson out of the first Test and team management had indicated he would be recalled for the second only if he could bat and bowl.

South Africa also have top-order batsman Dean Elgar in the squad as a possible replacement for Kallis, but Smith said they had not made a decision about who will step in if necessary. "If he [Kallis] is not fit, we will deal with it in the same way we have dealt with the other things that have dealt us a curve ball in the series," Smith said.

South Africa had suffered a major blow when they lost JP Duminy to a ruptured Achilles' tendon after the first day of the Brisbane Test. They had to play with ten men for the rest of the match and were short a spinner in the attack. They were dealt a less severe blow when Kallis left the field after bowling 3.3 overs in Adelaide. Although he could not bowl, Kallis was cleared to bat in both innings.

The Kallis injury occurred a few hours after Vernon Philander had been ruled out of the second Test with lower-back spasms that he sustained overnight. Philander was expected to recover in time for the Perth Test but given the bad luck South Africa have had in Australia, Smith was reserved about clearing him to play. "He is bowling and we expect him to fully fit for Perth. When we toss the coin, I will tell you if everything is fine."