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Manchester - Whenever the Proteas and Australia meet, regardless of the format, it is half-expected that tensions will be raised.
It is a fact that comes with the territory of being two of the game's fiercest rivals.
Saturday's dead-rubber World Cup clash in Manchester might not have that same spice given that the Proteas are already out of the tournament, but there is the small matter of it being the first time that Steve Smith and David Warner will face the Proteas since the infamous ball-tampering scandal that rocked world cricket at Newlands back in March 2018.
It ended in Smith and Warner being banned from all cricket for a year by Cricket Australia while Cameron Bancroft was given a nine-month ban.
Smith was naturally stripped of the Australian captaincy.
That four-match Test series, which South Africa won 3-1, will go down as one of the most brutal in the game's modern history with on and off-field issues dominating throughout.
There was the tunnel confrontation between Warner and Quinton de Kock at Kingsmead that turned nasty in a hurry, while in the second Test Kagiso Rabada got himself into hot water for a wicket celebration that saw him bump shoulders with Smith.
Rabada was banned for two matches before hot-shot lawyer Dali Mpofu appealed and had the sanction reduced to a 50% fine.
After the ball-tampering saga of the third Test, there was another twist ahead of the fourth Test in Johannesburg as a teary-eyed Darren Lehmann stepped down as national coach of Australia.
From start to finish, it was a series laced in dramas that Proteas skipper Faf du Plessis described as a "soap opera".
Now, the Proteas will have their Smith and Warner reunion.
Imran Tahir says it will be in the back of everyone's minds, but he came out in support of the Australian duo at Old Trafford on Thursday ahead of Saturday's clash.
"We haven't spoken about it. They have served their punishment. They are world beaters and they have my respect," Tahir told media in Manchester.
"Everyone makes mistakes ... I have made mistakes in my life too."
When asked if there would be any sledging on the day, Tahir was quick to answer.
"Not from us, but if it comes from them then we won't hold back," he said.
Australian coach Justin Langer, meanwhile, said that both Smith and Warner were mentally prepared for Saturday.
"They've got a good taste of what they can expect from the moment they turned up in England," he said.
"For those guys, this is just another game of exciting World Cup cricket. They are loving it and cherishing playing for Australia again."
Langer added that "hard work" had been required to get Australia back to the top of the pile in world cricket following what became known as 'sandpapergate'.
"It was one of the great crises in Australian cricket and it's taken a lot of heartache and pain to get to this point," he said.
"There were a lot of critics during those 12 months, but we've shown that if we play the Australian way … then we usually have pretty good success.
"We've had enough emotion in Australian cricket in the last 12 months to last us a lifetime."
Play on Saturday starts at 14:30 (SA time).
@LloydBurnard is in England covering the 2019 Cricket World Cup for Sport24 ...
