
Australia suffered their first-ever 5-0 one-day bilateral series defeat against South Africa this month and will now host Du Plessis’ side for three Tests starting on November 3, including a day-night fixture in Adelaide.
“Beating Australia the way we did – really convincingly, not giving them a sniff – will leave a bit of a scar on them mentally,” Du Plessis told reporters. “I appreciate that it’s Test cricket, and it’s a different format.”
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He added: “They will have a different team, probably a more mature team (than their ODI squad). So it’s important to start well in that first Test and remind them that we are in the same space as the one-day team.”
Du Plessis, who will captain the team in the absence of injured AB de Villiers when they visit Australia, is wary of the threat posed by left-armer Mitchell Starc, who has picked up 115 wickets in 28 Tests.
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Starc, who was rested from Australia’s ODI tour of South Africa, sustained a freak accident in training last month.
“Starc is a huge bowler for them,” said Du Plessis. “We’ll need to make sure we get good prep in with left-arm quicks. He’s obviously someone who can crank it up and get it close to 150km/h and then obviously he’s very good with reverse swing.”
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