Australian coach Darren Lehmann predicted on Wednesday that sledging is likely to be part of the mix when they confront South Africa in a five match one-day international series.
Skipper Steve Smith had lamented the quiet, virtually shy approach of his Test team during a recent 3-0 series loss to Sri Lanka.
“Steve hit it right on the head,” said Lehmann after the Australian squad arrived in Johannesburg for a series, which begins at SuperSport Park in Centurion next Friday.
Lehmann believes that one day side differs from the Test team in that they were more inclined toward sledging. “The one-day guys are pretty vocal,” he assured reporters. “I think we can look forward to a pretty fiery series. “One of the great things about these two countries is that they play it really hard on the field, but get along really well off it. I do not think the noise will be an issue for both teams in this series.”
New ball pair Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc have been rested off a November Test series at home to South Africa.
“We have chopped and changed teams since winning the World Cup, making sure we give everyone sufficient game time,” said the coach. We are looking ahead to two major tournaments — the Champions Trophy next year and the 2019 World Cup.” Australia will warm up for the South Africa series with a match against Ireland next Tuesday in Benoni on the eastern outskirts of Johannesburg.