South Africa look to gather momentum in ODI series with World Cup looming

JOHANNESBURG, Sept 29 - South Africa feel it is important to set some markers against Australia in their one-day international series, even though the World Cup is still one year away, key spinner Keshav Maharaj said on Tuesday.

South Africa are 2-0 up in the three-match ODI series which concludes in Potchefstroom on Wednesday after beating the World Cup holders fairly convincingly in Durban and Johannesburg.

“You want to try and be as clinical as possible in a series of this magnitude,” Maharaj told a press conference.

“They are the world champions, so it's always nice to build confidence. It is still just over 12 months away from the World Cup, but it's a wonderful stepping stone and foundation to build on.

“It shows character and also shows champion mentality to try and win the series, but it's about the process that we're focusing on behind everything and letting it play out that way and doing the basics really well,” he said.

South Africa co-host next year’s World Cup with neighbours Namibia and Zimbabwe.

Maharaj, along with fellow spinner Bjorn Fortuin and part-timer Aiden Markram, proved the catalyst for South African success in the first two ODIs, pegging back the Australian batsmen, and Maharaj's performance suggests he could be crucial in the three-test series that starts at his home ground in Durban on October 9.

“I went back to the drawing board after last season’s India tour (South Africa won 2-0). Obviously conditions were slightly different, but I just want to keep evolving from that aspect. And I feel like the best in the world always keep trying to evolve and I said, ‘why can't I be that person and try evolve in a different aspect of the game?’

“I worked on a couple of things and put a little bit more emphasis on the analysis work. I’ve always been someone who has been a scholar of the game and looks at the analysis in depth, but just probably looking at it from a different angle in different direction and still not losing that feel of the game,” Maharaj said. REUTERS