There are two things Australian and South African sporting teams have in common: Being at their best when their backs are against the wall and making sure the opposition swallow their words.
Rilee Rossouw does not come across as a goader of note but in some ways, he did ask of the Australians to stand tall in today's third ODI at Kingsmead in Durban.
If they don't, they will be the first Australian side to surrender an ODI rubber to South Africa within the first three matches.
That is a record Steven Smith would not like to have against his name considering his side's excellence in the shorter format but the Proteas have gelled better than expected.
Even though Rossouw has been a stand-in for right-hander Hashim Amla, his belligerence at the top of the order is one of the reasons why Australia find themselves two down with three matches to play.
“They are the best team in the world and if they don't bounce back, they don't deserve that tag,” said Rossouw yesterday.
“I’m pretty sure they'll come out with some big swings tomorrow on the field and it's all up to us to see whether if we'll be able to counter-punch them.
“The team has had two serious performances in a row and we want to wrap it up in the third game because Australia is the best team in the world.
“If you give them a sniff, they will come back hard.”
South Africa have generally never enjoyed playing at Kingsmead and their record against Australia tells the story.
They have not won in the last five attempts there and even though there have been close matches in 2006 and 2011, there have been lopsided beatings like the Adam Gilchrist-inspired eight-wicket hammering back in 2002.
Rossouw of course was not in the picture 14 years ago, and his mind frame is that of a player who does not seem to worry overmuch about the past.
That will come in very handy on what could be a slightly tacky surface slowed down by rain even though there was sunshine for the best part of the day yesterday.
Whether he will play is another story with Amla expected to return to the team after being laid low by sickness.
“We haven't spoken about that record but we'll mention it to the guys,” Rossouw added. “Each game of cricket is different to the other and maybe the last five times they had better game plans and I don't know what it came down to.
“We have the momentum and it's a new game and we want to finish the series.”
Not that Rossouw’s bullishness should surprise anyone. He drilled 63 off 45 balls at Centurion on Friday – which was good enough for the selectors to pull rank on captain Faf du Plessis and coach Russell Domingo‚ who wanted Amla back for the game at the Wanderers on Sunday.
Rossouw played instead‚ and repaid that faith by scoring 75. Deliver like that and you won’t be short of self-belief. — Additional reporting by Telford Vice
SA ready for the big challenge
Rilee Rossouw does not come across as a goader of note but in some ways, he did ask of the Australians to stand tall in today's third ODI at Kingsmead in Durban.
If they don't, they will be the first Australian side to surrender an ODI rubber to South Africa within the first three matches.
That is a record Steven Smith would not like to have against his name considering his side's excellence in the shorter format but the Proteas have gelled better than expected.
Even though Rossouw has been a stand-in for right-hander Hashim Amla, his belligerence at the top of the order is one of the reasons why Australia find themselves two down with three matches to play.
“They are the best team in the world and if they don't bounce back, they don't deserve that tag,” said Rossouw yesterday.
“I’m pretty sure they'll come out with some big swings tomorrow on the field and it's all up to us to see whether if we'll be able to counter-punch them.
“The team has had two serious performances in a row and we want to wrap it up in the third game because Australia is the best team in the world.
“If you give them a sniff, they will come back hard.”
South Africa have generally never enjoyed playing at Kingsmead and their record against Australia tells the story.
They have not won in the last five attempts there and even though there have been close matches in 2006 and 2011, there have been lopsided beatings like the Adam Gilchrist-inspired eight-wicket hammering back in 2002.
Rossouw of course was not in the picture 14 years ago, and his mind frame is that of a player who does not seem to worry overmuch about the past.
That will come in very handy on what could be a slightly tacky surface slowed down by rain even though there was sunshine for the best part of the day yesterday.
Whether he will play is another story with Amla expected to return to the team after being laid low by sickness.
“We haven't spoken about that record but we'll mention it to the guys,” Rossouw added. “Each game of cricket is different to the other and maybe the last five times they had better game plans and I don't know what it came down to.
“We have the momentum and it's a new game and we want to finish the series.”
Not that Rossouw’s bullishness should surprise anyone. He drilled 63 off 45 balls at Centurion on Friday – which was good enough for the selectors to pull rank on captain Faf du Plessis and coach Russell Domingo‚ who wanted Amla back for the game at the Wanderers on Sunday.
Rossouw played instead‚ and repaid that faith by scoring 75. Deliver like that and you won’t be short of self-belief. — Additional reporting by Telford Vice
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