Proteas eager to hit back against in-form Australia in ODI series

After being handed a 3-0 hiding in last week’s T20 series, captain Temba Bavuma says the Proteas are ready to make amends in the five-match ODI campaign against Australia starting in Bloemfontein on Thursday.

The tourists coasted to victory in the short format, but Bavuma remained confident his team would put up a stronger fight in the 50-over games against their perennial rivals, having been boosted by the return of five senior players who were rested during the T20 series. They included hard-hitting batters Quinton de Kock, Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller, as well as fast bowlers Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje, adding significant firepower to the national squad.

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“We know what to expect from the Australian team. If the T20 series is anything to go by, we expect them to come hard at us, and it will be important that we have tactics and solutions to counter all of that,” Bavuma said yesterday.

“As a team, our focus will always be more on ourselves, in terms of what we want to do and how we want to do that, and we have confidence that if we do that, the result will take care of itself.”

World Cup preparations

Just a month out from the Cricket World Cup in India, Bavuma brushed aside suggestions that the tour against Australia was the start of the Proteas’ build-up to the quadrennial spectacle.

While they were turning out in their first ODI series in five months, after a lengthy hiatus from the international game, the skipper insisted their preparations had begun earlier this year.

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“It is our last series before the World Cup, so I guess there’s more significance behind it,” Bavuma said.

“But I think in terms of everything we’ve done, our preparation started a long time ago and it’s just a matter of continuing to challenge ourselves in terms of all the conversations we’ve been having.”

The first ODI between South Africa and Australia, a day-night fixture in Bloemfontein, starts at 1pm on Thursday.

Proteas XI, first ODI

Temba Bavuma (c), Quinton de Kock, Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Marco Jansen, Gerald Coetzee, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi, Kagiso Rabada