Proteas will be difficult to beat, says Darren Lehmann

As the mighty Australian gear up for yet another challenging test series in reckoning against the Proteas, they would look to build upon the momentum gained in the latest Ashes triumph against their arch-rivals. It promises to be a tough tour for the visitors as their head coach, Darren Lehmann is aware of the challenges and considers the tour with ‘a little bit of extra feel’ given the South African greats AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla and Dale Steyn will take on the mighty Aussies for probably the last time together in their careers.

As per Lehmann, the Proteas are invincible in their own backyard and it would take some extra effort to get past through the trio, though they are nearing the twilight in their respective careers. The Australian coach makes noteworthy inferences form Proteas’ recent exploits against India in the test series which they won 2-1 before losing out in Johannesburg.

Lehmann mindful of the trio

Aware of the circumstances and the prospects that lie ahead for his team going into the test series, Lehmann notified about being mindful of the formidable trio that this South African lineup features in their ranks. He reckons this as an opportunity for the young side to prove their mettle in testing conditions as they would have to punch above their weights to think of winning the series. “We’ve got a lot to prove as a young side and keep playing well following on from our summer, ”he mentioned.

Talking about the impressive trio of AB, Amla, and Steyn, the Australian coach was of the view that demanded high-quality cricket skills on display from his team members to stop them from going big in their respective departments. “Those players [de Villers, Steyn and Amla] are world-class players, we’ll have to keep them quiet to have a really good result on this tour,” Lehmann said. “They’re special players. This (series) has a little bit of an extra feel I suppose because de Villiers, Amla, and those guys might not go around again and we might not see them,” he added.

However, Dale Steyn won’t be available for the first two test matches as he is out due to injury but the Australian camp is wary of the others who are as dangerous as anybody on their given day. The series promises to be much exciting as the No.2 and 3 ranked side lock horns in a test series that has everything at stake.