South Africa tour of Australia 2012

Smith 'quietly confident' Proteas will still be No. 1 after Australian tour SANews

The South Africans have vowed they will let their actions on the field do the talking for them as they aim to preserve their standing as the supreme team in Test cricket in the next five weeks.

The world's No.1 Test team are due to arrive in Sydney on Sunday afternoon minus opener Alviro Petersen and back-up wicketkeeper Thami Tsolekile, who are still on Champions League duty, 12 days before the first Test starts on Friday week.

For Graeme Smith, there will be no repeat of the mind games which blew up in his face on his first tour of Australia as captain in 2005 when on the eve of the series he declared Ricky Ponting's team were "scared" of losing at home. He was forced to eat humble pie three weeks later after being trounced 2-0.

Back then, Smith's public goading was designed to take the pressure off his young team but this time the captain is in charge of a far more resilient team, and he clearly sees no need to start a phoney war.

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Despite being given numerous opportunities at his departure press conference in Johannesburg, Smith refused to launch a grenade into the Australian camp.

There were no barbs directed at Australia's rookie openers or any threat to end the careers of veteran pair Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey, nor was there a proclamation that the Proteas boasted the superior pace attack.

"I don't really want to be pinpointing anyone out and say this is a weakness, that's a weakness," Smith said.

"We need to prove that over the next three Test matches."

The Proteas adopted a similar attitude four years ago when Smith and then coach Mickey Arthur orchestrated South Africa's maiden series victory in Australia, and again last year when they toppled the English on their own turf to claim the Test Championship mace.

Arthur is now Australia's coach but don't expect the Proteas to be expansive about their former mentor.

"We wanted to prepare really well, we didn't want to say too much, we wanted to make our performances count," said Proteas coach Gary Kirsten.

"I think we've got a group of guys who are ready to step up to those challenges.

"That's really what the Test series is going to boil down to - two quality teams and it's about he team that takes the advantage in those situations.

"I think we did that brilliantly in England and we would like to continue that momentum in Australia."

The Proteas have in the past arrived on Australian soil as the challenger but this time, as world No.1, they will be the hunted.

"We've earned the right to go there through the way that we've played to go there with that mantle," Smith said.

"We certainly are quietly confident in our ability to be successful.

"We know we've got a quality team and a team that's proved its ability to win away from home.

"I think there's an inner strength in our squad that knows if we prepare to our level and get ourselves ready we can compete in Australia."

Along with England, the Proteas, boasting Dale Steyn, Vernon Philander and Morne Morkel, own one of the most feared pace battalions in world cricket.

They believe they have the firepower to exploit any weaknesses in Australia's top seven "but we're not going headhunting and looking to target anybody", Smith said.

"Each Australian batter will provide quality and we need to make sure we produce to all of them."

Although Australia have in the past four years surrendered series at home to South Africa and England, and failed to beat New Zealand, Smith declared the country was still one of the toughest to tour in world cricket.

"To play well in their conditions, the crowds are daunting, media's daunting, to go there and win you have to be true to yourself as a team about how you want to go about things and what's important," Smith said.

"You need to show a lot of inner strength to be successful.

"For us it's nice to have that self-confidence of knowing that we have a team and the players that are able to go there and perform and do well as we have done in the past."

The Proteas are confident A.B. de Villiers has overcome the back complaint which forced him out of the Champions League this month, declaring the star batsman-wicketkeeper available to face Australia A later this week.