Smith: Massive challenge

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South Africa captain Graeme Smith has said he expects their forthcoming tour of Australia to be difficult, despite the slump in form Ricky Ponting's side are currently enduring in India.

Australia are 1-0 down with one match remaining in the four-Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy series and have, thus far, struggled to produce the sort of play seen in recent years.

The efforts of their bowlers have come in for particular criticism, with some going so far as to suggest Australia's long-standing dominance in Test cricket is coming to an end.

Nevertheless, ahead of his side's trip Down Under, which begins in mid-December, Smith has refused to be swayed by the performance of their next opponents on the subcontinent, pointing out that Australia have not lost a series at home since 1992/93.

"I think conditions will be very different in Australia," he said.

"It's conditions that they are use to playing on, it's their home ground and I think if you look at their stats, they haven't been beaten at home for a very, very long time. So it will be a massive challenge for us.

"But any tour away from home whether it's to India, Australia or to England is a really tough experience. You're in someone else's backyard, their crowds and their media, and I think you have to be very mature in the way you go about it.

"So we're excited, we're looking forward to it and we certainly believe we can do well, so hopefully this time we can pull it off."

The 27-year-old is in a confident mood ahead of the tour, South Africa having recorded an historic Test series victory over England earlier this year.

He added: "Last season we came off a very successful season, the most successful season the Protea team has ever had, so that's really given the team great confidence.

"We're obviously building up to the massive tour of Australia, so every day we're really grafting hard at what we need to do."