Australia vs South Africa 2016: 5 things Australia should do to win the first Test

#5 Putting the Sri Lankan tour and ODI series against South Africa behind them

Australia had a disastrous Test seties in Sri Lanka

The mental scars of the Lankan tour and the disastrous whitewash in the ODI series against the visitors should be the last thing on the mind of the Aussies as they walk out at Perth.

Yes, they had a horrible last few months but they have the right personnel to move them forward from a rather long passage of losses. In Steven Smith, they have a leader who can lead by example and has done that in the past. But coach Lehmann will need to instil in his skipper and his men the need to start afresh in this series.

The absence of trash talk and mindgames before the series suggests that Australia have not recovered fully from the drubbing they got at the hands of the South Africans and Lankans. Unless they put that behind them, Steyn and co. will have a lot to talk about in the next few weeks.