De Villiers: We will do whatever it takes to win
South African captain AB de Villiers is looking forward to resuming a staunch rivalry with Australia, come Wednesday's key tri-series fixture at the Harare Sports Club.
South African captain AB de Villiers is looking forward to resuming a staunch rivalry with Australia, come Wednesday's key tri-series fixture at the Harare Sports Club.
The Proteas and Aussies have met in ODI cricket on 80 occasions, with the former triumphant 36 times and the latter 41. Three ties, too, have maintained a tight margin.
Their last meeting, earlier this year, was for a three-Test series in Cape Town, Centurion and Port Elizabeth. The Australians emerged victorious two-one to clinch the number one position in the International Cricket Council rankings. The South Africans, however, have since reclaimed the coveted berth – after beating Sri Lanka in July.
"It was a hard fought series back in South Africa, there are no hard feelings. We don't expect anything less when we play Australia or any of the top teams in the world, it's always a tough series," said de Villiers.
"Personally for myself as a batsman, I don't mind the sledging, I enjoy the challenge. Facing some of the best bowlers in the world is a huge privilege and I'm expecting to see more of that in this series. In the same breath we are also here to win. We will do whatever it takes to win the series."
The Aussies will head into Wednesday's fixture on the back of a convincing victory over Zimbabwe in the tournament opener, while de Villiers and company recently whitewashed the home side three-nil across the opening leg of the tour.
"We have been here for three weeks already so I felt that a break would be a good way for the players to recharge their bodies and minds. It was all in all a good break, the guys have come back hungry for success," added de Villiers.
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