Rabada ready to renew rivalry

Proteas captain Faf du Plessis expects to see a wildly competitive yet mild-mannered Kagiso Rabada in the three-match Gillette ODI Series against Australia starting tomorrow.

Controversy surrounded Rabada in autumn's Test series in South Africa but ultimately the right-armer let his cricket do the talking with 23 wickets at 19.26 in the historic 3-1 triumph.

Australia-South Africa clashes have been heated affairs in recent times, and du Plessis said that hostility brings the best out of the Proteas spearhead.

"It's a big rivalry not just for him but for all of us," du Plessis said on Saturday.

"Australia is such a great cricket team. When you come here there's a real feel about it that you're the away team.

"There's a presence about the press or the stadiums that you go to. The rivalry is great.

"Obviously, you want to try and perform at that stage. That's ‘KG’ (Rabada) in a nutshell. He loves the big stage."

While Rabada will undoubtedly fire up against the Australians, du Plessis doesn't expect to see the speedster lose his cool like he did earlier this year.

His brush with then-captain Steve Smith in Port Elizabeth initially earned him a two-Test ban before it was overturned after a lengthy appeal process.

In addition, Rabada was not afraid to let his feelings known to the tourists in between balls, whether it be with a glare, snarl or some choice words.

But du Plessis does not expect to see any of that in the ODI series given the pace of one-day cricket and the pressure on him to bowl the 50-overs in the allotted time.

"KG, he knows what he needs to be better at," du Plessis said.

"All the stuff that happens off the ball is more to do with Test cricket. One-day cricket, we as captains are now so under pressure to try and make sure to get through our overs.

"That's generally you bowl a ball, you get back, you bowl a ball, you get back.

"He's learnt from it, but I don't think you'll see much of that anyway."

How to watch

Fans can watch the three-match ODI series and one-off T20 on November 17 on Foxtel via Fox Cricket, and also on cricket.com.au and the CA Live app.

The series will be the first broadcast by Fox Cricket after they signed a six-year deal with Cricket Australia earlier this year to show all men’s and women’s internationals, every match of the KFC BBL and selected Rebel WBBL games. CA’s free-to-air partner, the Seven Network, will broadcast all men’s Test matches, all women’s internationals, the majority of BBL matches each season and selected Rebel WBBL games under the new deal.

The Fox Cricket coverage will feature the ground-breaking 4K resolution and a new-look expert commentary team featuring Shane Warne, Adam Gilchrist, Brett Lee, Allan Border, Ian Healy, Mike Hussey, Isa Guha, Mel Jones, Ellyse Perry and Alyssa Healy.

In addition to streaming the broadcast of the #AUSvSA series, live radio coverage from the ABC and Macquarie networks will also be streamed on cricket.com.au and the CA Live app.

You can catch all the news, reports and highlights from the series on cricket.com.au and the CA Live app and make sure you follow cricket.com.au on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

The fixtures

Nov 4: First ODI, Perth Stadium, 2.20pm AEDT (11.20am local)

Nov 9: Second ODI, Adelaide Oval, 2.20pm AEDT (1.50pm local)

Nov 11: Third ODI, Blundstone Arena, Hobart, 2.20pm AEDT