Proteas happy to fight fire with fire

South African captain Faf du Plessis said Australia’s aggressive mode of playing the game had motivated the Proteas no end as they head into the final Test at the Wanderers from Friday with a 2-1 lead in the series, with the tourists reeling in disarray from their ball-tampering scandal.

“We were very motivated before the series and we expected that style of play from the Australians. But we were definitely a lot more motivated after the first Test, after everything that was said, the guys were very pumped up, a lot had happened then already and I could feel it in the camp,” Du Plessis said after their crunching 322-run win in Cape Town.

“I don’t feel we need to sledge back, but we just want to make sure we keep a lot of pressure on them. There must be a lot of noise going on in their heads, it will no longer be just about watching and hitting the ball for them. We want to get them to a place where what’s going on in their brains is even more over the top.”

Australia have steadily slipped into crisis mode since their comprehensive win in the first Test in Durban, and captain Steven Smith has been banned from the Wanderers finale by the International Cricket Council.

“Steven obviously tried to take some responsibility, which is sometimes right, but others should also take responsibility for their own actions. I’m sure it’s a really tough time for him, when I went through it in Australia, people were attacking me and my personality, which he probably hasn’t felt before and is unfortunate,” Du Plessis said.

“But it’s very comforting knowing we won’t have to worry about him in the last Test because he’s a very good batsman.”

Asked whether the Proteas felt Australia could have been tampering with the ball throughout the series, Du Plessis said it was strange that batsmen would now rather open the batting in South Africa and face the new ball – historically one of the hardest jobs in Test cricket.

“With their combination of pace and late swing, and three fast bowlers who are adept with it, plus we have three quicks who can do it as well, batting has been very tough in the middle-order,” Du Plessis said.

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