Wary Proteas taking inspiration from Springboks

Aiden Markram says South Africa's cricketers are taking "inspiration" from the Springboks' run to the Rugby World Cup final as they continue their own quest for global glory in India. 

Just hours after South Africa thrashed England in Mumbai on Saturday, their reigning rugby union world champion compatriots edged England 16-15 in a tense semifinal in Paris.

"We're following the rugby as much as everyone else, to be honest," said top-order batter Markram on Monday during a pre-match press conference ahead of the Proteas' pool game against Bangladesh in Mumbai. Markram was the stand-in captain against England after regular skipper Temba Bavuma was ruled out through illness.

"I suppose a lot of the hype is around them right now and rightly so. They're doing some special things once again as a team.

"It inspires us. We try to take motivation and inspiration from them."

As well as the colossal margin of victory, South Africa's match against England was also notable for the oppressive conditions, with Proteas century-maker Heinrich Klaasen saying temperatures of up to 36 degrees made it feel as if he was "batting in a sauna".

But Markram said he expected the big-hitting middle-order batter to be fit to face Bangladesh despite a 109 that "took quite a lot out of him".

As for Bavuma, the 29-year-old Markram said he was "definitely improving" but no "final call" had been made on the skipper's availability to face Bangladesh.

The Tigers have proved tricky opponents in recent encounters for South Africa.

And even though Bangladesh have lost three of their four games at the World Cup, wary batsman Markram said: "If your skills let you down on the day against a team like Bangladesh, you will be put under a lot of pressure. They bring a great attack that is well rounded now. You can't just say they're going to bring fantastic spinners because their seamers have done a great job in the recent past."