Proteas expect backlash

The Proteas expect Australia to come back at them hard in the second and final test starting on Thursday at the Wanderers.

The tourists came crashing down in a remarkable test match at Newlands last week, losing to the home team by eight wickets with two-and-a-half days to spare.

Top-order batsman Hashim Amla said yesterday that South Africa were bracing themselves for a backlash from the Baggy Greens this week.

"Australia are a very good team, and it will be no surprise if they come out firing," Amla said.

"They will want to play some good cricket, and we would be the same if we lost the last game, so we're not going to be complacent."

Australia were dismissed for 284 runs in their first innings in the opening match before bowling the hosts out for 96.

But the South Africa bowlers then turned the tables on the Aussies, rolling them for only 47.

Then the Proteas, thanks to centuries by Graeme Smith and Amla, coasted to the target of 236 before lunch on day three.

The game will always be remembered for the second day's play, one of the most bizarre in the history of test cricket, on which 23 wickets fell.

"We are going to keep it simple and not place too much on what happened in the first test," said Amla, who made 112 in the fourth innings. "We'll have to see what the wicket is like first, but this is a new game and each test match is different."

Amla believed the tourists were likely to brush off the freak day in the last game, and the hosts would need to be at their best to secure a series win.

"A match like that happens probably once in every 500 tests, so I don't think they'll look into it too much," he said.

"They will probably be a little demoralised, but we're going to need to put in a good performance at the back end of this series."

South Africa have lost their previous four test matches against Australia at the Bullring.

They have also not beaten Australia in a test series at home since 1970, but Amla said the hosts were not concerned about their past record.

"I don't think the guys really know about those stats, so we're not going to read too much into that."