New era for old foes South Africa, Australia

Johannesburg: South Africa and Australia both usher in new eras this week when the old foes start a month long cricket contest days after their bruising battle at the Rugby World Cup.
The tour starts with two Twenty20 games, which will likely set up a typically fierce one-day and Test series, even if many of the personnel have changed.
South Africa is under India's World Cup-winning mentor Gary Kirsten for the first time in Thursday's opening T20 game. The Aussies are coached by Troy Cooley for the short term following Tim Nielsen's departure.
Hashim Amla also stands in for AB de Villiers as the Proteas' new captain in the limited overs matches, while Australia hopes teenage fast bowler Pat Cummins and explosive batsman David Warner — standout players at the recent Champions League tournament — can prove their international pedigree in the short formats.

Michael Clarke will lead Australia in the three ODIs and two Tests in just his second series in charge following the trip to Sri Lanka.
Both teams chose to rebuild after similar failures at the cricket World Cup six months ago, with Ricky Ponting stepping down in favor of Clarke and Graeme Smith giving up the South African limited overs captaincy. He remained as Test skipper.
The sight of Ponting and Smith — who have gone head to head for nearly a decade — taking a back seat in the one-dayers under new leaders will be strangely unfamiliar.
"It seems to be that in Australian cricket at the moment there are plenty of opportunities for younger guys," said Cameron White, Australia's captain for the T20s before Clarke flies in with the ODI and Test players. "I'm not sure if we're in a flat spot or a down spot ... maybe it's just a bit of changing the guard with certain players.
"They (South Africa) also have a new coach and so do we. We don't actually have a coach at the moment, we've got an interim coach, so we're in a similar position I guess you could say."
"The best of enemies" is how South Africa's media describes the relationship between the cricket teams ahead of the tour. "Let's welcome the Aussies with a bloody good hiding," TV adverts over here say.
"There's no doubt they (South Africa) are a great side and they will be very tough to beat," said White on the T20s, where neither Ponting nor Smith will feature. "We hope to win both games, that's how competitive we are," he added, sweeping aside any thoughts that the 20-over games in Cape Town and Johannesburg will be a gentle warmup for the rest of the tour.
"Hashim is a natural leader," spin bowler Robin Peterson said this week, backing South Africa's No. 1-ranked ODI batsman.
Despite the bullish buildup from South Africans, Kirsten has to quickly restore the public's shattered faith in the Proteas in their first outing since another disastrous World Cup campaign.
After all, South Africa's quarterfinal exit at cricket's showpiece six months ago was probably more of a shock than Sunday's defeat in the rugby.