The Proteas will be hoping that Australia send their best ODI squad to South Africa for the September series.
The five matches they will play against Australia will serve as their only real preparation for the Cricket World Cup after a winter off from national team duties.
No tours were arranged in the gap in the schedule and few teams have had as long a break from action among the top sides.
The five-match series will wrap up a little under a month from the start of the Cricket World Cup.
It remains to be seen if Australia try out different combinations or rest players but South Africa will want to take on their strongest.
Australia will be South Africa’s second opponents at the Cricket World Cup after Sri Lanka.
South Africa beat the Australian at the 2019 Cricket World Cup but they had by that time already been eliminated from the running for the semi-finals.
In the intervening time, the Proteas ODI form has been patchy to say the least.
They scraped into the tournament as the final qualifier through the Cricket World Cup Super League.
Former Titans coach Rob Walter has been charged with turning things around, but he has been given scant time with his players so far and will need that series against Australia to complete some final tweaks.
The series against Australia will also offer a barometer of the Proteas ability to mount a serious challenge in India.
A lack of momentum might prove the issue if the Proteas can’t get going against Australia.
There were some positives towards the tail-end of the last season, particularly the form of young allrounder Gerald Coetzee.
The Proteas also need to figure out their spin-pace balance for a World Cup in India.
There will be much to do for South Africa when Australia visit and that could get in the way of results for the Proteas at the end of the day.
