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Proteas wary of Australia on home soil

To Faf du Plessis, South Africans and Australians are inherently similar.

Oct 19, 2016, updated Oct 19, 2016
South Africa's captain Faf du Plessis will don the whites in Australia this summer. Photo: Themba Hadebe / AP

South Africa's captain Faf du Plessis will don the whites in Australia this summer. Photo: Themba Hadebe / AP

So the Proteas captain knows what’s coming in the looming three-Test series against Australia.

“South Africa and Australia are very similar in nature,” the Proteas captain said in Adelaide.

“When you get knocked down, the best thing is to come back and try and make sure you put in an even bigger performance.

“So we expect that. That is the Aussie way.”

Du Plessis and the South African Test squad arrived in Adelaide buoyed by their 5-0 limited overs series whitewash against Australia.

But du Plessis cautioned against expecting a similar result in the Test series starting in Perth on November 3.

“Australia always, at home, is an incredibly tough challenge,” he said.

“The questions we got in South Africa, because of the expectations of people, is that we are a team that should beat them now.

“But that is definitely not the way I see it.

“There is fantastic cricketers in that (Australian) team. And we’ll respect that and make sure we prepare to try and beat possibly one of the strongest Test teams in the world.”

The Proteas open their tour with a day-night game, with pink balls, against a Cricket Australia XI in Adelaide on Saturday and Sunday – the third Test in late November will be played under those conditions in the South Australian capital.

The tourists then play another two-day game, in the day, against a South Australian XI at beachside Glenelg Oval in Adelaide next Thursday and Friday before travelling to Perth.

-AAP

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