People will support a winning team - Makete

Makete was appointed on a stand-in basis just over a month ago by Cricket South Africa, after Mark Boucher announced that he would vacate the job following the ICC Men's T20 World Cup that recently took place in Australia.

The 42-year-old currently in charge of South Africa 'A', as well as the National Academy Lead, has set his sights on securing victory in the series commencing on 17 December in Brisbane, with the hope of attracting support for the team in the Test arena.

"There are different takes to getting people back in the ground. I mean, we know if we start winning, people will still come to the ground," said Makete.

"And in this new era for cricket, where T20 cricket is really dominating and pulling the crowds, the Australia of old made it a goal to ensure they're scoring around fours to get people at the grounds, and they were still winning cricket games so it was a win-win for them.

"And for us, it's really about going out there and winning, and we know that back home people will support a winning team regardless of what happens, and that's what we're looking to set our stalls on.

"Obviously we want to play good, attractive and brave cricket, but first and foremost we want to make sure that Test cricket is there to be played for five days, and if it means we win on the last session on the fifth day, we'll take that."

Maketa has also assured that the disappointment of the World Cup group stage elimination a few weeks back has been buried, with focus firmly on the red-ball format.

"For us, speaking for myself mainly, it's totally different formats and we have made sure that mentally and physically the guys have gotten a little bit of a longer break, and [since] we've gotten here now, the focus has been how we're going to go about winning the series," he added.

"The players that were here during the World Cup have contributed in many senses, in terms of the conditions – by the way, it was T20 conditions – but we have been challenging them just to make they're putting their energy into the team, which is what they've done.

"And, with it being Test cricket, it brings in different pressures, so from that point of view, the mental switch, I feel, has definitely happened and earlier than we expected in terms of the energy we've received from them. So, it's been positive so far."

Players who were part of the World Cup devastation that will also face Australia in the Test series include white-ball skipper Temba Bavuma, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi, Ainrich Nortje and Kagiso Rabada.

Proteas Test squad against Australia:

Dean Elgar (captain, Momentum Multiply Titans), Temba Bavuma (DP World Lions), Gerald Coetzee (ITEC Knights), Theunis de Bruyn (Momentum Multiply Titans), Sarel Erwee (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Simon Harmer (Momentum Multiply Titans), Marco Jansen (Dafabet Warriors), Heinrich Klaasen (Momentum Multiply Titans), Keshav Maharaj (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Lungi Ngidi (Momentum Multiply Titans), Anrich Nortje (Dafabet Warriors), Kagiso Rabada (DP World Lions), Rassie van der Dussen (DP World Lions), Kyle Verreynne (wicketkeeper, Six Gun Grill Western Province), Lizaad Williams (Momentum Multiply Titans), Khaya Zondo (Hollywoodbets Dolphins).