Smith wants Aussies to get into a rhythm against Proteas
JOHANNESBURG: While they expect a “fiery” series, the Australian team who face South Africa in five ODIs over the coming weeks are also looking to lay down a few psychological markers with those Proteas they’re likely to encounter in the eagerly-awaited Test series Down Under in November.
Steve Smith’s men begin their preparation today for the ODIs which statrt on Tuesday – a one-off match in Benoni against Ireland, before the first of five ODIs against the Proteas takes place in Centurion. The Australian captain is aware that the ODIs can’t be divorced from what’s going to happen in November when the two teams meet for three Tests.
“If we look at the South African attack, they have a few guys that will be part of the Test squad, it gives us a chance to play against them and hopefully get into a rhythm against them,” Smith said yesterday.
While the Australians have chosen to rest their new ball pair of Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood – the former also has to recover from a nasty gash on his left shin – the Proteas will throw Dale Steyn and Kagiso Rabada into the series, undoubtedly also looking to make an impression against some of the Australians.
“Their batters have been pretty similar for a while now. We know what they bring to the table, we just have to (be) up for the challenge,” Smith said.
“In Australia, the conditions are about as close to what they are used to here... we will have to be at our best to beat them this summer.”
Before his side left home, Smith had bemoaned how quiet his players had been on the field during their recent Test series loss to Sri Lanka.
But the skipper’s call for his players to “puff out their chests” is not something Australia’s coach Darren Lehmann believes needs to be implemented by the ODI squad. “It’s more so in the Test-match arena. The one-day guys are pretty vocal,” said Lehmann.
“I think this will be a fiery series. One of the great things about these two countries is they play it really hard on the field, but get along really well off it. I don’t think the noise will be an issue in this series for both sides.”
Like their Test team recently, the squad who the Australians have picked for the South African tour contains quite a few new faces.
Three bowlers, Daniel Worrall, Chris Tremain and Joe Mennie, have yet to play at senior international level. Scott Boland, who’s likely to share the new ball with John Hastings, has played 10 ODIs while all-rounder Travis Head has only played six ODIs.
“We do turn over (players) a bit in our one-day set up because you’ve got to give the Test players a break somewhere,” said Lehmann, explaining that the reason Starc and Hazlewood aren’t in South Africa is to keep them fresh for the Test series.
“We have chopped and changed the one-day side, but they’ve handled it very well. The great thing is it gives them the chance at this level – we’ve had Travis Head come in and do really well for us and the bowlers, of course, chop and change.
“Steve knows he’s got great depth in this format and the Test format. For us, we’ve chopped and changed since the World Cup final (last year) and making sure we give everyone enough game time looking ahead to major tournaments – like the Champions Trophy next year and then in 2019 the next World Cup.”
Despite that furious rate of rotation, Australia’s winning record hasn’t suffered. Since the World Cup they have a winning rate of 65% and have lost just one series, in New Zealand earlier this year.
They also have an excellent record in South Africa, winning 20 of 38 ODIs while the Proteas have won 17. One match was tied.
“It’s always good coming here because of the quality of the opposition. They are quality one-day and Test side. For us, it’s a great challenge to come here with a young-ish side – we are missing a few key bowlers for this (series) but we are looking forward to the challenge of playing a really good side,” Lehmann added.