But Marsh believed the Potchefstroom collapse was not cause for alarm.

"Hopefully we learn a lot from it," Marsh said at the post-match presentation. "There's no doubt we'll be exposed to those conditions throughout the World Cup and we'll have to be better. But I think the last 12 to 18 months, it's our second loss of that period and we have generally played spin really well. It's an area that we've thoroughly improved in. So tonight may be a little slip-up and hopefully we can rectify that in the next game."

Australia could well get spinning pitches in their first three games in the World Cup as they face India in Chennai and then South Africa and Sri Lanka in Lucknow.

"Ash [Agar] wasn't available for selection today, so that made it tough to play the two spinners. And Zamps, he's got a big workload coming up, so we thought today was a good opportunity to rest him and give Tanveer [Sangha] an opportunity"

Adding to the concern is the fitness of their spin options. Agar has played just two ODIs this year and is unlikely to play another until the warm-up games of the World Cup as he is flying home from South Africa on Wednesday for the birth of his first child having played just one game in the series.

Australia wants the flexibility to be able to play two spinners in the World Cup, especially on spinning tracks like Chepauk in Chennai, and Agar's fitness will be crucial with Marsh admitting he would have liked two spinners in Potchefstroom.

"Ash [Agar] wasn't available for selection today, so that made it tough to play the two spinners," Marsh said at the post-match press conference. "And Zamps, he's got a big workload coming up, so we thought today was a good opportunity to rest him and give Tanveer [Sangha] an opportunity."

"I thought Travis Head bowled exceptionally well," Marsh said. "It was really good for him to get an opportunity to bowl and we were able to, I guess, pull them back a bit through the middle."

Australia will continue to experiment with their line-up in the final two games. They hope to have Cameron Green and Spencer Johnson return for at least one game each but neither will be risked if they are not quite right.

"Hopefully Greeny will be able to play maybe the last game," Marsh said. "I'm unsure how many more days he has got with the new concussion protocols. But we certainly won't be taking any risks with that kind of stuff. And Spencer is hopefully tracking well to play in one of those two games. Again, he is early in his international career, and we've got to look after him. Hamstrings are something you can't really rush back but hopefully, he is fit for one of the last few games and we can get a look at him."