England are the big Test for SA next year

There is life after the World Cup. Proof of that came yesterday in the form of the itinerary for next season's tour by England.

Four Tests have been scheduled, which means South Africa will play more than three matches in a single series for the first time in five seasons.

The Boxing Day Test, which was not played in 2012-2013 and has been moved to St George's Park this season, will be back at Kingsmead next summer.

Of the 72 Test series the Proteas have played since readmission in 1991, only 12 have featured more than three matches.

The most recent of them was in 2009-2010 - also against England, who have been SA's opponents in seven of those dozen series.

The Test series is the first item on a tour that will also include five one-day internationals and two T20s. England are due to arrive on December 11 next year and leave after the second T20 at the Wanderers on February 21.

In preparation for next year's World Cup, the Proteas will look to take a step towards winning the ODI series against Australia in the third match of the series in Canberra tomorrow .

That AB de Villiers's team were able to level the series in Perth on Sunday with a three-wicket win that followed the 32-run smack they took at the same venue on Friday had much to do with Morné Morkel's career-best haul of 5/21.

"It's important for us to strike in the first 10 overs, and with them batting heavy and attacking up front it's important for us to hit those margins, which are very small at the Waca," Morkel said.

On Friday, Australia were 60 without loss after the first 10 overs. On Sunday, they were 27/2 at the same stage of their innings and 27/3 two balls later.

Bowlers, Morkel said, were required to sacrifice expansiveness for precision in the shorter formats - particularly against classy opposition.

"In Test cricket, a lot of batsmen can leave deliveries because of the bounce," he said.

"In one-day cricket, if you give them a little bit of width or you are a little bit short, they can score quite freely.

"The Aussies are high-quality attacking players, and if you're not on the money they are going to make you pay."

Sunday's match was not only notable for SA's comprehensive win, but also because it marked Hashim Amla's 100th ODI.

"I'm really grateful to all of my teammates and the ones I've played with before," Amla said. "It's been a wonderful 100 games.

"No one does it by themselves; you are always part of a team. They run your runs with you."

A case in point was Sunday's match, when the Proteas needed just 154 to win, but slipped to 113/5 before getting home with three wickets standing and 22.2 overs to spare.

"We were favourites to win, but scrapping it out to get that kind of win - it was probably closer than we thought it would be - was a lovely feeling, especially in the 100th game," Amla said.