Proteas wary of wily Warner: 'He's always brought a lot of intensity against us'

Proteas interim coach Malibongwe Maketa said they were wary of Australia’s opener David Warner, who still bears some of the brunt from the "Sandpaper gate" fallout from the last time the two countries met.

Warner recently withdrew a bid to overturn his lifetime Australian leadership ban that resulted from the 2018 incident in South Africa, which caused him, former captain Steve Smith and Cameron Bancroft to be suspended from cricket at the time.

Four years on, the stink from that acrimonious series still lingers to this day, especially ahead of the first Test in Brisbane on Saturday.

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"When you come through those situations, they can sometimes galvanise a team," Maketa said.

"What they went through was far from pleasant and some of the players are still paying for those mistakes.

"I think opening old wounds will make them come together as a team, so we really need to be up for the challenge."

Warner will play in his 99th Test at the Gabba against SA’s attack, which boasts Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Lungi Ngidi and Marco Jansen.

Beleaguered though he might be – Warner hasn’t scored a century in three years – Warner has always brought it against the Proteas, according to Maketa.

"David has always brought a lot of intensity against us and we don't expect anything different from him," Maketa said.

"We've bowled really well to him as well and we're looking forward to the challenge. We also fight fire with fire, so it doesn't take much for our guys to step up when the need arises.

"We can't control what Australia does, but we can control how we go about our business and that's about executing to the best of our abilities."