Van der Dussen makes a welcome return to the team following a fractured finger to bolster the South African batting line-up down-under.

The Proteas have battled with the bat in their recent series, but the Australian wickets are arguably the finest in the world regarding batting.

Van der Dussen said they must make a statement with the bat.

“People have been quite critical of our batting unit in the last two years, and like you mentioned in England it was very tough,” said Van der Dussen.

“If you think of the last 18 to20 months, the conditions we have batted in have been really tough. The numbers tell that story.

“Our guys are averaging in the 30’s, and some of the other countries are averaging in the 50’s and 60’s. People compare the two without exactly looking at that point of taking conditions into consideration.

“I definitely see it as we are sitting in second place on the World Test Championship, and that tells you that the cricket we've been playing has been sufficient to get us there.

“Whatever the conditions we have batted in, the other teams have also batted in, and we have come out on top. Sometimes I think people look too much into those stats.

“As a batting unit we are not looking for excuses. We do want to get more 100’s, more partnerships and score a lot more runs individually. But at the end of the day, if we as a unit get our team over the line, that’s the most important thing.”

The Proteas will face a Cricket Australia XI from Friday at the Allan Border Oval in Brisbane in a four-day warm-up game. The 1st Test between Australia and the Proteas at the Gabba in Brisbane gets underway on 17 December.

Morgan Piek OFM Sport