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Cape Town - Ahead of the four-match Test series against South Africa, Australia spinner Nathan Lyon says they are in a "better place" since the last time the Proteas beat them in a series Down Under in 2016.
On that occasion, the Proteas won the first two Tests of the three-match series before the Aussies made several changes for the final game in Adelaide with the hosts eventually coming out on top in the pink-ball Test.
The Aussies also come to South Africa on the back of a four-nil hammering of England at home in the Ashes and will defend a proud record away against the Proteas, having never lost a series in the country.
"The whole side is in a better place. There's been a big change since the last time South Africa were in Australia," Lyon told reporters on Tuesday.
"You have to give them credit, they totally outplayed us in our own conditions. That didn't go down well with myself or the whole side.
"We've spoken about coming over here and have really enjoyed coming over here in the last couple of series. We are not going to take that for granted. We are not coming here thinking that we are going to get an automatic success," said the spinner.
"We trained really well. We had an unbelievable training session, the boys are firing and there's a lot of confidence in the changing room.
"But, as I said before, we pay the South Africans a lot of respect as they have some class players. We have to see how we go, but we need to make sure that we are competing and challenging the South Africans."
The first Test between the Proteas and Australia starts in Durban on Thursday at 10:00.
