We go to Australia on a blank slate: Faf du Plessis
Having recently become the first team to inflict a 5-0 whitewash on Australia in a bilateral One Day International (ODI) series, South Africa will be a confident lot as they head Down Under for a Test series in November. Faf du Plessis, who stood in as skipper for the injured AB de Villiers during the ODI series, will also captain the Test side in the three-match series in which South Africa will also play their maiden day-night Test.
Reflecting on the recent performance, du Plessis said the ODI mauling would have left a mental scar for the Australian players, but was quick to add that the change in the format will mean South Africa will have to deal with a different team during the Test series.
"Beating Australia the way we did - really convincingly, not giving them a sniff - will leave a bit of a scar on them mentally. I appreciate it's Test cricket, a different format," Du Plessis said on Sunday (October 16). "They will have a different team, probably a more mature team (than their ODI squad). So it's important to start well in that first test and remind them that we are in the same space as the one-day team."
Du plessis noted that the the current Australian players are unlike the older generation cricketers from the country, whose cricketing routine included constant chatter and verbal aggression. "When I first started playing against Australia, the guys were the toughest team to play against because of their personalities. They were guys that competed by being verbal.
"If you look at the Australian team now, their personalities have changed. They don't have those aggressive guys that are at you the whole day, swearing the whole day. We play a similar brand of cricket now. We are very competitive but we respect each other's personal space," du Plessis said.
Speaking about the form of the players in the South Africa Test squad, du Plessis is pleased that most of them were amongst the runs or wickets during the ODI series, which according to him is a confidence booster. "Confidence definitely plays a role. The most important thing for me is that the players are in form. No matter what the format, if you are in form you feel confident and that is something amazing to take over to Australia.
"People's expectation will be of us going there and dominating Australia again but that's not the case. We've had an amazing series, which has been the highlight of a lot of our careers, but we go to Australia on a blank slate. The guys are confident but it's not just going in guns blazing and thinking we can dominate them. We will have to earn that right again," the South Africa captain added.
South Africa's three Test series against Australia begins on November 3 at the WACA in Perth. The second game is scheduled to be held at Bellerive Oval in Hobart from November 12 while the final match, which will be played under lights with the pink ball, will played from November 24 at the Adelaide Oval, which also hosted the maiden pink-ball Test between Australia and New Zealand last year
Reflecting on the recent performance, du Plessis said the ODI mauling would have left a mental scar for the Australian players, but was quick to add that the change in the format will mean South Africa will have to deal with a different team during the Test series.
"Beating Australia the way we did - really convincingly, not giving them a sniff - will leave a bit of a scar on them mentally. I appreciate it's Test cricket, a different format," Du Plessis said on Sunday (October 16). "They will have a different team, probably a more mature team (than their ODI squad). So it's important to start well in that first test and remind them that we are in the same space as the one-day team."
Du plessis noted that the the current Australian players are unlike the older generation cricketers from the country, whose cricketing routine included constant chatter and verbal aggression. "When I first started playing against Australia, the guys were the toughest team to play against because of their personalities. They were guys that competed by being verbal.
"If you look at the Australian team now, their personalities have changed. They don't have those aggressive guys that are at you the whole day, swearing the whole day. We play a similar brand of cricket now. We are very competitive but we respect each other's personal space," du Plessis said.
Speaking about the form of the players in the South Africa Test squad, du Plessis is pleased that most of them were amongst the runs or wickets during the ODI series, which according to him is a confidence booster. "Confidence definitely plays a role. The most important thing for me is that the players are in form. No matter what the format, if you are in form you feel confident and that is something amazing to take over to Australia.
"People's expectation will be of us going there and dominating Australia again but that's not the case. We've had an amazing series, which has been the highlight of a lot of our careers, but we go to Australia on a blank slate. The guys are confident but it's not just going in guns blazing and thinking we can dominate them. We will have to earn that right again," the South Africa captain added.
South Africa's three Test series against Australia begins on November 3 at the WACA in Perth. The second game is scheduled to be held at Bellerive Oval in Hobart from November 12 while the final match, which will be played under lights with the pink ball, will played from November 24 at the Adelaide Oval, which also hosted the maiden pink-ball Test between Australia and New Zealand last year
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