Alex Carey says Australia are excited by the challenge posed by a formidable Proteas team when they meet in the Champions Trophy for the first time in Rawalpindi on Tuesday.

Australia, winners in 2006 and 2009, chased down 352, the highest target in tournament history, against England in Lahore in a Group B game on Saturday.

Carey made a brilliant 69 alongside Man of the Match Josh Inglis, who scored his maiden ODI hundred, to seal a five-wicket win.

The Proteas overwhelmed Afghanistan by 107 runs in a clinical performance in Karachi.

“I think South Africa are playing really well in one-day cricket and look like they’ve got a great balance across their 11 players,” the 33-year-old Carey said on Monday. “So, another exciting opportunity for us coming off the back of a great game against England, play with a lot of freedom, take the game on.”

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Australia and South Africa have never met in the Champions Trophy, and the Proteas hold a clear advantage after winning nine of their past 12 ODIs against them.

Australia are also missing world-renowned pace trio Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc.

“Look, it’s an inexperienced bowling attack, there’s no hiding away from that. In and around that we’ve got some experience with our leg-spinner Adam Zampa and Glenn Maxwell,” Carey said.

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The pace trio of Spencer Johnson, Ben Dwarshuis and Nathan Ellis went for 171 runs for three wickets between them in 27 overs as England scored 351-8 in their 50 overs.

However, Carey backed a strong Australian batting lineup that includes Travis Head.

“We’ve got Steve Smith who’s a fantastic captain,” Carey said. “I think if we are to bat first throughout the tournament, I’ll back our boys to defend.”

“Travis will try to smack them at the top with Matthew Short. You’ve got Smith and Marnus [Labuschagne] through the middle and then hopefully set it up for Maxwell to go big at the end.

“We know they’re a great team … but I feel like our confidence is high and we’re really excited for tomorrow,” he said.

The top two teams from each group will qualify for the semi-finals, with hosts Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and New Zealand in Group A.

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Commanding centuries from Steve Smith and Alex Carey gave Australia a dominating lead at stumps on day two of the second Test against Sri Lanka in Galle.

Australia, leading by 73 runs at 330-3, were poised to post a mammoth first-innings total, with Smith and Carey stitching together an unbroken 259-run stand for the fourth wicket.

Sri Lanka’s bowlers showed some early flair but the spinners struggled to get the same fizz off the surface once the ball lost its bite, and Smith exploited the gap.

The Australia captain made a scratchy start and his innings could have been cut short on 24, when he was judged lbw to Nishan Peiris. However, a timely review saved him and Smith never looked back.

Smith tightened his grip on the contest with elegant cover drives and precise pull shots.

He took a few calculated risks and, with Sri Lanka lacking a substantial total to defend, the field was soon spread out to cut off boundaries rather than hunt for wickets.

That didn’t deter the Australian captain, who pierced the gaps with ease in dispatching nine fours and a six.

He brought up his 36th Test hundred in style, pulling part-timer Kamindu Mendis to the mid-wicket boundary.

Carey was promoted to No 5 in place of Josh Inglis, who was off the field nursing a sore back, and grabbed his chance, racing to his half-century in 68 deliveries.

His hundred came with a well-timed sweep to the boundary, taking just 118 balls to reach the milestone, and finished with a career-best 139 off 156 balls that included 13 fours and two sixes.

Sri Lanka were earlier bowled out for 257, having resumed on their overnight score of 229-9.

Kusal Mendis played a lone hand with a spectacular 85* but he ran out of partners as the Australian bowlers wrapped up the innings after some late resistance.

The visitors have already put the Warne-Murali Trophy beyond Sri Lanka’s reach, having taken an unassailable 1-0 lead with a crushing victory in the first Test.

The innings and 242-run humiliation stands as Sri Lanka’s worst defeat in Test history.

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