Du Plessis won't dwell on the past in Manchester

Steve Smith and David Warner's feats with the bat will speak louder than their mistakes in Cape Town when their careers are over, says Faf du Plessis, who insists the ball-tampering plot would not be used as sledging fodder for the pair's first encounter with South Africa since last year's scandal.

Smith and Warner can continue their seamless transition back into international cricket by helping Australia sew up top spot on the World Cup standings with a win over the underachieving Proteas on Saturday at Old Trafford.

A spiteful Test series filled with heated clashes between the two teams both on and off the field climaxed with unprecedented bans handed down to Australia's captain and vice-captain last year.

But asked if the incident would be brought up on the field on Saturday, South Africa skipper du Plessis said: "No, not at all. 

"We have played against each other since then. For me, playing against Australia has always been a great battle because you face a team that's always very competitive. That is what I love about playing against Australia.

"There was certainly no talk about the past or bringing up comments. As I said back then, and I will say it now, I believe as a team we are a pretty low-key team when it comes to verbals.

"We just try and get on and play the game and certainly the last few games playing against Australia that is exactly the same from them."

Du Plessis, who sent heartfelt messages to Smith and Warner expressing support after the scandal, has a long history with Australia.

After being found guilty of ball-tampering during the infamous 'Mintgate' saga during the Hobart Test in 2016, he defied a booing Adelaide crowd in the following Test and hit an unbeaten century to lead South Africa to series-clinching victory.

Smith and Warner have also copped jeers from British crowds, with the latter admitting he's used the heckling as motivation on the way to the top of the World Cup's run-scoring charts with 516 at 73.71. Smith has also had a solid campaign, scoring 287 runs at 37.25.

When all is said and done, du Plessis, who said he’d consider his own international future after the World Cup, doesn't believe Smith and Warner will be tainted indefinitely by the controversy.

"Whether the game will remember them for that, I don't think so," said du Plessis. "I think their records and their performances will speak much louder than one incident as a once-off.

"If you look at them now you can see them as a team, the Australian culture looks like it's really good, so they have learnt from that and they have made themselves stronger for it and I think that's a good sign for anyone. 

"All of us make mistakes. It is about how you learn and how you move forward."

Australia captain Aaron Finch insisted the duo’s first game back against South Africa held no extra significance and reiterated his view that this World Cup has been played in an exceptionally good spirit. 

"I think everyone's moved on," Finch told reporters. "There's definitely never any more or less motivation than international cricket itself. 

"It's coming to the business end of the World Cup. There's not much more motivation needed from that.

"The spirit in which the World Cup has been played has been unbelievable. The sportsmanship, the camaraderie amongst the teams has been outstanding.

"I think Australians and South Africans are quite similar in a lot of ways. They are very competitive people, passionate about the game and try their best as hard as they can to win games for their country. That's where the rivalry I guess comes from.

"There's been a lot of great Test matches, close Test matches, a lot of great historic one-day matches as well, so I think that's where it all stems from."

2019 World Cup

Australia's squad: Aaron Finch (c), Jason Behrendorff, Alex Carey (wk), Nathan Coulter-Nile, Pat Cummins, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa

June 1: Australia beat Afghanistan by seven wickets

June 6: Australia beat West Indies by 15 runs

June 9: Australia lost to India by 36 runs

June 12: Australia beat Pakistan by 41 runs

June 15: Australia beat Sri Lanka by 87 runs

June 20: Australia beat Bangladesh by 48 runs

June 25: Australia beat England by 64 runs

June 29: Australia beat New Zealand by 86 runs

July 6: Australia v South Africa, Old Trafford (D/N)

July 9: Semi-Final 1, Old Trafford

July 11: Semi-Final 2, Edgbaston

July 14: Final, Lord's

Sync Australia's World Cup schedule to your calendar HERE

For a full list of all World Cup fixtures, click HERE