Steyn return 'exciting' on road to World Cup 2019 – Gibson

The Proteas chief said the games, all of which they won, "answered some nice questions” ahead of the team’s three-match ODI tour of Australia in November, which in turn is preparation for next year’s ICC Cricket World Cup. “Rabada and Ngidi have done very well,” Gibson said. “We have given Tahir time off to allow us to see other players and he has come back and shown us why he is our number one. He has come back and bowled really well, he is mentoring Shamsi which is good for Shamsi, we have high hopes for him. "I know what Rabada and Ngidi can do but for me the real excitement was watching Dale Steyn bowling in the second game in Bloemfontein. It was fantastic to see him back to that level again, bowling quickly with that skill and accuracy. That is the real exciting part for me.”

“There are a lot of guys we have in our thoughts who will be in the squad to Australia,” he explained after the final abandoned T20I on Sunday. “Hashim is injured, he is out of the squad already, as a selection group we have already discussed that with him. We want to give him as much time as possible for him to get ready for the next set of cricket that he has coming up. “For the last 12 months we have been looking at players,” he added. “In the next couple of months the window is closing, the players have been told that the window is closing all the time. We are getting closer and closer to the guys that we want on the journey. In the Pakistan and Sri Lanka series we want to be focusing on a core of 17 to 18 players we will be looking at.” South Africa's squad for the three-match ODI and one-off T20I tour to Australia will be announced on Thursday.