Darren Lehmann Urges Australia to Prove Themselves Against South Africa

Australian coach Darren Lehmann said that the upcoming tour of South Africa has “a little bit of extra feel” because in all likelihood it could be the last time that the three South African greats AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla and Dale Steyn will take on the mighty Aussies. In the last decade or so these three champion players have helped the Proteas build a formidable prospect especially in the longest format of the game.

Lehmann believes that even in their twilight, the Proteas will be difficult to beat. Australia opens their tour of South Africa in Durban on upcoming Thursday. Speaking to cricket.com.au, Lehmann said that it was a good chance for the Aussies to prove their mettle against strong opposition. South Africa recently defeated India in the three-match Test series by a 2-1 margin.

De Villiers, Amla, and Steyn are world-class players says, Lehmann

“Those players [de Villers, Steyn and Amla] are world-class players, we’ll have to keep them quiet to have a really good result on this tour,” Lehmann said. “They’re special players. This (series) has a little bit of an extra feel I suppose because de Villiers, Amla, and those guys might not go around again and we might not see them.

“We’ve got a lot to prove as a young side and keep playing well following on from our summer.” Steyn will miss the first two Tests owing to injury. However, he hopes to be fit for the last two Tests. South Africa are the 2^nd ranked Test team in the latest ICC rankings while Australia is in the 3^rd position. India tops the chart.

Meanwhile, Australia played a warm-up match against South Africa A. They won by five wickets in Benoni. While Mitchell Starc took five wickets in the match, Cummings bagged 4. He was also the top scorer for Aussies in both the innings. Cummins scored 59* in the first innings while 45 in the 2^nd innings.

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