DURBAN, South Africa - Australia captain Ricky Ponting will announce a side for tonight's one-day international after discussing his options with selector-on-duty Merv Hughes.
Both camps see the opening game of the series as vital to their hopes of claiming the ODI top ranking. South Africa took top spot fromAustralia with a 4-1 win in the series in Australia in January.
Ponting says Mitchell Johnson's bone-breaking powers will be playing on Graeme Smith's mind when the South Africa skipper returns for tonight's game.
Left-armer Johnson fractured Smith's left little finger in the Sydney test match in January and two tests later in Durban he completed the double, cracking the opening batsman's right little finger.
After missing the third test in in Cape Town last month and the two Twenty20 Internationals which followed, Smith has been batting confidently in the nets this week in Durban.
"There's no doubt that those sort of things will be playing on Graeme's mind a little bit but he's an outstanding player and has been for a long time," Ponting said.
"He becomes one of our major targets in this series.
"We've got to make early inroads if we want to get (big-hitting all-rounder) Albie Morkel into the crease early.
"We are the number two-ranked one-day team in the world and we'd love to see ourselves back in the number one ranking by the end of this series."
While the Proteas have welcomed back Smith, their star all-rounder Jacques Kallis will miss the opening game with a groin injury.
"Every team's focus in a one-day game is to make the most of the new ball and take early wickets and try to put opposition middle orders under a bit of pressure, especially when it's one that's weakened with having a class player like Kallis out," Ponting says.
"If we do that well, we might be able to expose the length of their tail."
TEAMS
Australia (14-man squad):
Ricky Ponting (capt), Michael Clarke (v-capt), David Hussey, Mike Hussey, Callum Ferguson, Cameron White, Brad Haddin, James Hopes, Mitch Johnson, Nathan Bracken, Nathan Hauritz, Marcus North, Brett Geeves, Ben Laughlin.
South Africa:
Graeme Smith (capt), Johan Botha (v-capt), Hashim Amla, Mark Boucher, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Herschelle Gibbs, Albie Morkel, Morne Morkel, Makhaya Ntini, Dale Steyn.
