Kallis believes Australia will bounce back for Johnnie Walker Super Series

South Africa-all-rounder Jacques Kallis believes the ICC World XI could be about to face a backlash from Australia during the Johnnie Walker Super Series.

Kallis, the world's number one batsman and all-rounder in the LG ICC Test rankings, said: "Australia may have lost the Ashes series in England but I am certain they will be a totally different side at home.

"They are a proud nation that I still feel are the number one side in the world, they know the conditions, will have the crowds on their side and it all adds up to a stiff test for us."

Speaking from Dubai on Wednesday, where the majority of the ICC World XI one-day squad linked up ahead of their Emirates flight to Melbourne, Kallis said he was confident the line-up comprising players from seven different one-day teams could turn itself into a tight-knit unit in time for the first match at Melbourne's Telstra Dome on 5 October.

"It will take a while for us to gel and get to know each other like a bunch of players that plays together all the time but I am sure it will happen," he said.

"We have all played against each other often enough in the past and there is a good feeling around the squad already so I am sure it will not be much of a problem."

Kallis has some happy memories of Australia, and Melbourne in particular. He made his maiden Test hundred there in December 1997 and four years later he made 99.

"Australia was one of the first sides I faced at international level and conditions tend to suit me because they are quite similar to the ones I am used to at home," he said.

"I have some great memories of playing there as an individual but things have not gone as well for me there from a team point of view and it would be great if I could put that right as part of this ICC World XI," he added.

Kallis threw his weight behind the concept of the top team in the LG ICC Test and one-day Championship ladders, in this case Australia, going head-to-head against the best players from the rest of the world.

"I am really looking forward to these matches and it is a privilege to have been selected," said Kallis. "From a player's point of view these are the matches you want to be involved in."

The Johnnie Walker Super Series comprises three one-day internationals at Telstra Dome in Melbourne on 5, 7 and 9 October followed by a Test match at the Sydney Cricket Ground from 14 to 19 October.

Details of how to purchase tickets for the matches can be found here

The ICC squads for the series are as follows:

Test - Graeme Smith (capt), Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Brian Lara, Jacques Kallis, Andrew Flintoff, Shaun Pollock, Mark Boucher, Steve Harmison, Shoaib Akhtar, Muttiah Muralitharan, Daniel Vettori.

ODIs - Shaun Pollock (capt), Chris Gayle, Virender Sehwag, Jacques Kallis, Brian Lara, Kevin Pietersen, Rahul Dravid, Andrew Flintoff, Kumar Sangakkara, Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Akhtar, Makhaya Ntini, Muttiah Muralitharan, Daniel Vettori.