Skipper Steve Smith had lamented the quiet, virtually shy approach of his Test team during a recent 3-0 series loss in Sri Lanka.
Skipper Steve Smith had lamented the quiet, virtually shy approach of his Test team during a recent 3-0 series loss in Sri Lanka.
Johannesburg: Australia 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 in 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 the one-day side differ 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.-"
Lehmann said he chose a young team, including uncapped bowlers Joe Mennie, Chris Tremain and Daniel Worrall, to give some Test stalwarts a break.
-"We do turn over players a bit in our one-day set-up because you have got to give the Test players a break somewhere.-"
New ball pair Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc have been rested ahead of 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 at Willowmoore Park stadium in Benoni on the eastern outskirts of Johannesburg.
