All eyes will be on these two during the first Test against South Africa

Australia pace duo Mitchell Starc and Ben Hilfenhaus are focused on leading their country to victory against the South Africans after making the squad for the first Test at Brisbane.

However, both bowlers will be closely monitored since Starc has been on a rampage as of late in the limited overs format, while Hilfenhaus has not bowled with a red ball since Australia’s tour of the Caribbean in April.

Whatever the case, Starc and Hilfenhaus will have to do just as well as James Pattinson and Peter Siddle, both of whom were not required for the recent Champions League Twenty20 (CLT20), if they want to cement their spots for the second Test at Adelaide.

“I’m really looking forward to a red ball. It’s been a few months of white ball cricket, I’m looking forward to picking up a red ball in preparation for a Shield match starting this Friday first of all and in preparation for this Test if I get the call-up. My main focus is the Shield game against Queensland. There have been a lot of workload issues and the bowling coach has come over to South Africa to look after the Australian guys as well. I’m pretty happy with the amount of balls I’ve been bowling over the last few months. There’s no secret we’ve been doing stuff outside of training to make up the numbers,” Starc said.

Starc will be keen to keep his scorching run alive during the Test series, despite having lost seven kilograms after a gastric compliant during the International Cricket Council (ICC) World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka.

Things went from bad to worse for Starc as his efforts to recover were hampered due to another illness he picked up in South Africa, while representing the Sydney Sixers in the CLT20.

“I’m doing a lot better now, obviously I’m still down on energy. I lost weight in Sri Lanka and was sick again in South Africa. I got over that and was pretty happy with the way the ball was coming out in South Africa,” Starc added.

Some cricket pundits believe that Starc may struggle to control the red ball, but Starc dismissed those concerns, and said: “They’re both Kookaburra balls so I’ve taken a lot of confidence how the ball has come out over the last few months, for me the main thing was playing a lot of cricket back to back, starting with Yorkshire in England. To play a lot of games there and carry through the last few tours I’ve gained a lot of confidence out of that. The ball is coming out now with a bit more consistency and a bit more swing.”

Meanwhile, Hilfenhaus stated that he was tired of playing so many Twenty20 matches and added that he could not wait to be bowling with the red ball once again.

Speaking exclusively to Fox Sports, Hilfenhaus said: “It was good to be out there more than 20 overs, legs will be a bit heavy tomorrow for sure, looking forward to the Shield game and getting into the red ball groove. Very important I think to get the red ball in hand, get your line and length and get away from the white ball for a little bit.”