Cape Town - Proteas skipper Faf du Plessis says Australia can’t compete with his men as the teams get ready to face off at Newlands on Wednesday (1.30pm).
South Africa have dominated their visitors in their ODI series and head into the final of the five-match contest looking for an historic whitewash.
And Faf is very confident, he says: “We haven’t allowed them to compete with us at times. When they looked like they were going to compete, we got stuck in and waiting for our chance. Like in Durban, they were all over us and nine times out of 10, you lose matches like that.”
The Proteas batsmen have just been on another level.
Du Plessis’ men have been on fire against the world’s top-ranked ODI side and took a 4-0 lead over the Aussies with some impressive performances.
Now with an historic whitewash on the cards, Faf says it’s because his batting unit have been on top of their game.
Quinton de Kock (288 runs), Faf himself (239), Rilee Rossouw (189) and David Miller (154) have all been in great form.
And even though much has been said about the Aussies resting their top bowlers for the upcoming Test series Down Under, Faf has no doubt where he should be giving credit.
He says: “To be honest with you, I’m really impressed with the style of cricket we’ve played.
“There has been a lot said about their bowling attack.
“But my focus is how we’ve been batting.
“That first game set the tone for us, when Quinton played one of the best one day knocks you will ever see [the 178 knock off 113 balls).
“So did Rilee when he came to open the batting.
“The second game once again we put in a great batting performance.
“And David Miller also put up his hand [with his unbeaten 118 off 79 in Durban].
“So for me, the batting of our team this series has just been a level above what we’ve seen in the past.
“And if you compare that to team, their batting on paper is just as strong. Sometimes stronger.
“But they have not performed like we have.
“And it’s happening a little more regularly in our team. The guys are doing great things more often and that’s great to see as a captain.”
Daily Voice