Lungi Ngidi excited by first tour of Australia

South Africa fast bowler Lungi Ngidi is revelling in the experience of his very first tour of Australia, an "exciting" next step in his international career.

The 22-year old is one of six players in South Africa's limited-overs squad making their debut tours Down Under, and since their arrival a couple of days ago the touring group have been focused on acclimatisation ahead of their warm-up match against a Prime Minister's XI in Canberra next Wednesday. The ODI series begins at the Optus Stadium in Perth on November 4, and Ngidi said he was looking forward to the occasion.

"Clashing with Australia is a good competition," he said at South Africa's light practice in Perth on Saturday. "Everyone is competitive, it is good cricket, and everyone loves to watch it. I am expecting nothing less on this tour.

"The relationship between the two teams is one of competition," he said. "We keep it on the field, that is where it stays. There will always be aggression on a cricket field, the fast bowlers are always going to be coming at the batsmen and the batsmen will try to take us (bowlers) down. You have to keep it civil, but very competitive, I feel it is going to be a good challenge in this series."

Ngidi has announced himself as a key strike bowler for South Africa this year, and is their leading wicket-taker in ODIs in 2018 with 22 wickets at 20.45 in 10 matches. Australian conditions are likely to suit Ngidi's style, but he stressed the need to assess conditions on the day and not get carried away by talk of pace and bounce.

"I have seen the wickets here are pretty quick, that is going to be exciting. The main thing is to assess the conditions that you find on the day. I have always been told to never get ahead of myself, on quick wickets you might get too excited and end up bowling short when it is unnecessary. I will try to keep a level head, always hit competitive lengths and keep my aggression. The nets that we've been bowling on have been pretty quick. If the wickets are anything like that, it's going to be an interesting battle. "

A spate of injuries have affected South Africa's plans for this trip, with Hashim Amla, JP Duminy and Wiaan Mulder all ruled out, but Ngidi said that there is "a lot of information" being shared by those in his squad who have toured Australia before.

"We've got some senior players still here. They're pulling the youngsters on very well. We're learning as we go along. There's guys like Quinton de Kock who've been here before, so they're able to help the batsmen along. [Kagiso] Rabada's also been here, so I'm working in partnership with him. There's been a lot of information bouncing off of each other. Everyone's in a good mindset, and they've been able to help the younger players fill the shoes that the older players have left behind."

South Africa travel to Canberra on Monday ahead of the tour match against the Prime Minister's XI next Wednesday.