Proteas’ cricket captain Hashim Amla was on Thursday undaunted by Australia’s good track record in one-day internationals (ODIs) played in Durban.
“Statistics don’t make any difference to us and we’ll just stick to the processes and see whatever happens on the day,” he said.
The two rivals meet again on Friday at a ground where Australia has won four out of their six one-day ODIs played.
“There are a lot of things we can’t control, like the weather, and a lot more things that go into a game, but I don’t think anyone is carrying too much baggage from the past,” Amla said.
The weather could play an important role, as it did in the first ODI in Centurion 10 days ago.
Rain is predicted for Friday afternoon and heavy rain is expected in the evening.
“We just have to be at peace with the weather,” lamented Amla.
“We know it always rains in Durban and we will keep tabs on it and continue to assess the conditions.”
It will, however, affect the captain’s decision if he wins the toss.
“It does make things more complicated when deciding whether to bat or bowl first,” he admitted.
“We’re still getting used to the revised Duckworth/Lewis calculations and we were a little surprised in the first game when we had quite a lot of runs added on.
“You don’t know whether the calculation will go your way or not.”
With the ODI series poised at 1-1, South Africa are unlikely to make any changes to the side, particularly after their most recent success in Port Elizabeth.
“The team has had a good balance over the last two games, even though we lost the first one,” said Amla.
“The bowlers came to the party and we played an extra batter [David Miller] and, fortunately, he performed really well so it’s difficult to bring anyone else in but the selectors have the final say.
“But, for now, everyone has performed their role pretty well and is doing their job.”
Captaining the Proteas in the one-day series against Australia was not what Amla had in mind a few months ago, but he is now enjoying the role and continues to learn all the time.
“I’ve learnt a lot in the last four games about and am keeping an open mind about it for the future,” Amla said.
“Tactically I’ve got some very solid guys in the field to assist me and they’ve been good and give advice whenever they see fit.”
He admitted he had a lot more on his plate and it was a huge responsibility captaining his country — and a win on Friday would not go amiss.
“Of course, everyone wants to be a winning captain — it would be fantastic,” he said.
“But winning is usually a by-product of a lot of other processes, so we’re not putting a lot of pressure on ourselves.
“I’m not so nave to think it will all happen for me immediately but it’s something I’d certainly enjoy — but we’ll have to wait and see what happens tomorrow.” — Sapa