No more turbulence for McGain

The Australian team has moved on from Bryce McGain's missed flight to South Africa without revealing whether the uncapped legspinner has been punished. McGain, the 36-year-old legspinner, arrived a day later than the squad after not getting his connection from Melbourne to Sydney and met with the side's management about his tardiness.

"It has all been dealt with internally," the coach Tim Nielsen told AAP. "We have had a good chat with Bryce over the last 24 hours. We understand the situation and we've looked after it. So as far as we're concerned it is put to bed."

Nielsen was asked if McGain had been punished and said: "He didn't travel with the team. As far as what has been going on, it has basically been dealt with internally and we're happy with the situation. As far as we're concerned, it's all over."

McGain could play a big role on the tour after returning from shoulder surgery and is likely to appear in the three-day tour game starting in Potchefstroom on Friday. Michael Clarke is a doubt for the match due to a lingering back injury that ruled him out of the final two contests of Australia's home limited-overs campaign.

He walked laps of the oval during the team's training session on Wednesday and hopes to play a bigger role at Thursday's practice. The first Test is in Johannesburg from February 26 and South Africa also have an injury concern in the wicketkeeper Mark Boucher.

Boucher had a toe broken by a Shaun Tait yorker during the one-day series in Australia last month, but will not let it stop him from trying for back-to-back Test successes. "Normally you need up to six weeks for it to heal completely," he said in the Star. "But I guess I'll just have to play through a bit of pain. If I need it, I'll take an injection."

The public banter between the sides has been quiet but Boucher expected it to increase as the first Test neared. "There's always hype about when South Africa meet Australia in a series, lots will be said beforehand," Boucher said. "They have a few loopholes in their squad, there's no doubt about that. You only have to look at their side to see that."