Australia scarred by ODI rout, says South Africa's Du Plessis

South Africa's stand-in captain, Faf du Plessis, believes Australia will head into next month's test series against his team mentally scarred following their one-day whitewash by the Proteas.

Aussies thrashed in South Africa

Australia suffered their first ever 5-0 one-day bilateral series defeat against South Africa this month and will now host Du Plessis's side for three Tests starting on 3 November, including a day/night game in Adelaide.

"Beating Australia the way we did - really convincingly, not giving them a sniff - will leave a bit of a scar on them mentally. I appreciate it's Test cricket, a different format," Du Plessis told reporters.

"They will have a different team, probably a more mature team [than their ODI squad]. So it's important to start well in that first Test and remind them that we are in the same space as the one-day team."

Du Plessis mindful of Starc danger

Du Plessis, who will captain the team in the absence of injured AB de Villiers when they visit Australia, is wary of the threat posed by left-armer Mitchell Starc, who has picked up 115 wickets in 28 Tests.

Starc, who was rested from Australia's ODI tour of South Africa, sustained a freak accident in training last month.

"Starc is a huge bowler for them. We'll need to make sure we get good prep in with left-arm quicks. He's obviously someone who can crank it up and get it close to 150km/h and then obviously he's very good with reverse swing," Du Plessis added.