Cape Town - He is wary of a backlash following their recent win in Zimbabwe, but Proteas ODI skipper AB de Villiers believes the South Africans do have a little bit of an edge over their Australian counterparts.
The Proteas emphatically beat Australia by six wickets in a tri-series final in Harare last month and now head Down Under for limited overs series against New Zealand and Australia.
They will play three ODIs against New Zealand as well as three T20s and five ODIs against Australia.
De Villiers feels South Africa could definitely win the five-match series in Australia next month, especially since they beat the Baggy Greens two out of three times on neutral ground in Zimbabwe.
"We can definitely win the series. We showed that now against them, I believe we've got a bit of an edge over them," De Villiers told SAPA at OR Tambo International Airport before the team's departure.
"(I'm) not going to make any silly statements but we played the better cricket in Zimbabwe, that's why we beat them so we'll try and stick to the same kind of basics, respecting the fact we are away from home and respecting the fact we are playing a team with really good momentum and confidence at the moment."
De Villiers nevertheless expects a highly motivated Australian team to pitch when the two sides square-off.
"I think they (are) very hungry, especially against us after we've beaten them now in Zimbabwe. I think... they'll want to give us a little bit of payback and I think that will be a great challenge first of all."
The skipper also highlighted a key area of the game his players need to work on with next year's Cricket World Cup looming.
"We had a few meetings in Zimbabwe about fielding and we talked about it at length. It's not about the basics - it's about turning games around and doing special stuff that I see other teams do," De Villiers told the ESPNcricinfo website. "I don't believe we are in the top two fielding teams in the world and you need that at a World Cup."
The Proteas emphatically beat Australia by six wickets in a tri-series final in Harare last month and now head Down Under for limited overs series against New Zealand and Australia.
They will play three ODIs against New Zealand as well as three T20s and five ODIs against Australia.
De Villiers feels South Africa could definitely win the five-match series in Australia next month, especially since they beat the Baggy Greens two out of three times on neutral ground in Zimbabwe.
"We can definitely win the series. We showed that now against them, I believe we've got a bit of an edge over them," De Villiers told SAPA at OR Tambo International Airport before the team's departure.
"(I'm) not going to make any silly statements but we played the better cricket in Zimbabwe, that's why we beat them so we'll try and stick to the same kind of basics, respecting the fact we are away from home and respecting the fact we are playing a team with really good momentum and confidence at the moment."
De Villiers nevertheless expects a highly motivated Australian team to pitch when the two sides square-off.
"I think they (are) very hungry, especially against us after we've beaten them now in Zimbabwe. I think... they'll want to give us a little bit of payback and I think that will be a great challenge first of all."
The skipper also highlighted a key area of the game his players need to work on with next year's Cricket World Cup looming.
"We had a few meetings in Zimbabwe about fielding and we talked about it at length. It's not about the basics - it's about turning games around and doing special stuff that I see other teams do," De Villiers told the ESPNcricinfo website. "I don't believe we are in the top two fielding teams in the world and you need that at a World Cup."