ODI form counts for Test series: Du Plessis

Even with his sights fixed firmly on an unprecedented five-nil one-day international series whitewash over Australia, South Africa’s stand-in captain Faf du Plessis has lifted his gaze to survey the imminent Test series against their great rivals.

Never before have Australia, the reigning world champions and No.1 ranked one-day team, finished a five-match bilateral assignment without notching a win.

A record that du Plessis is very publicly coveting as a revamped and resurgent Proteas outfit under his leadership – in the absence through injury of regular skipper AB de Villiers – ahead of the final game of the series at Newlands in Cape Town later today.

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But the 32-year-old, who was also this week named as interim captain of the Test team as de Villiers continues his recovery from elbow surgery, wants to carry that winning form into the three-Test tour of Australia that begins later this month.

And which, despite the distinctly different personnel that both teams will field for the series opener in Perth starting November 3, du Plessis sees as achievable if the efforts and enthusiasm of his one-day group can be transported across the Indian Ocean.

"I appreciate that it’s a different format, but if you play against Australia every single mental thing you can have on your side does play a role," du Plessis said on the eve of the day-night match that is expected to draw a full house to Newlands despite its mid-week fixturing. 

"So that’s a big driving factor for me for tomorrow - to try and make sure we win five-nil because that’s huge confidence.

"We know it’s going to be an extremely tough (Test) tour.

"Beating them in Australia is possibly up there with the toughest tours Test-wise, but a five-nil score line would be another one per cent in our favour.

"Five-nil has never been done against Australia so it’s something that we as team really want to do.

"We want to go places where no other South African team have been.

"We want to reach higher levels and achieve greater things than anyone else.

"The fact that the Test series comes straight after this (ODI tour), sixty per cent to seventy per cent of both teams’ players are the same.

"So that motivation of five-nil will mean a lot to me."

The spectre of a hefty, history making defeat has not been lost on the tourists either.

Assistant coach David Saker admitted that a winless whitewash has been raised in Australia’s team meetings, and the need to avoid heading home without a win against the hosts is high among the list of motivations come game five.

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But Saker, England’s bowling coach for five years who also led Victoria to last summer’ Sheffield Shield title, claimed the 14-man squad remained in good spirits with captain Steve Smith actively cultivating a positive vibe.

And while he agreed the 16-man South Africa Test squad that boards their flight to Australia within a week will be buoyed by their white-ball dominance, he points out their assignment will be considerably tougher against an opponent vastly changed in personnel and mindset on home soil.

"You can’t always read too much into one-day cricket and what the South Africans will be thinking is they’ll be quite confident after they’ve done well," Saker said.

"But Australia in Australia is a different kettle of fish.

"We’ll have a good look at the opposition that we’re playing and make sure we come up with some really good plans.

"Test cricket is a different ball game all together and … it’s heating up to be a fantastic summer against those guys."

Saker was part of England’s set-up in 2012 when the Proteas toured the UK for a three-Test series and trounced the fancied home team 2-0 (with one match drawn) on the back of some stunning bowling efforts from Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander.

Both of whom are among the nine members of South Africa’s current ODI squad who have also been named for the Test tour to Perth, Hobart and Adelaide. 

Saker recalled that England campaign – where Graeme Smith’s team won at The Oval by an innings and at Lord’s by 50 runs – as much for the batting dominance of Hashim Amla (who scored two centuries, one of them a triple hundred) and other now-retired members of the Proteas top-order as for the heroics with the ball. 

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And he is predicting some of the same names from four years earlier will again figure prominently in Australia where the Proteas boast the best winning record of any visiting Test team over the past decade. 

"Dale Steyn is probably the best bowler going around in the world, (and fellow quick Kagiso) Rabada is a really exciting talent for them,” Saker said when asked what he and his fellow coaches had gleaned from the current ODI tour that might prove useful come the Tests.

"They’re going to cause us some problems at times.

"But I know the Australian Test team will be determined to do really well. 

"They (South Africa) have played fantastic cricket (during the ODIs), some of their batting has been as good as it gets and their bowlers have put a lot of pressure on our batters at different times.

"In South Africa they’re always tough to beat and (du Plessis) has led that team very well.

"But we’re determined to win one game before we go home."

South Africa’s skipper is just as hell bent on holding them winless.

And his faith in that never-before-seen event coming to pass is strengthened by not just the dominance that is reflected on the win-loss ledger, but the way those four victories have been achieved.

Rarely offering the world champions so much as a sniff, regardless of the fact that half a dozen of Australia’s front line fast bowlers are absent though injury or the decision to rest them.

"Their (Australia’s) batting is just as strong, and possibly on paper sometimes even stronger, but they haven’t matched our batsmen in this series at all," du Plessis said.

"We haven’t allowed them to compete with us at times, and even when they looked like they were going to compete we held them and stuck it out and waited for the opportunity.

"It’s happening more regularly now in this team that guys are doing amazing things."