South Africa's international cricket season gets under way on Sunday when the Proteas take on Zimbabwe at Willowmoore in the first of two one-day internationals (ODIs).

Proteas captain Graeme Smith made no secret of the fact South Africa were using the series against Zimbabwe as preparation for the series against England, which begins with a Twenty20 match at the Wanderers on Friday.

"We've had a bit of a disjointed start to the season," Smith said on Saturday.

"We didn't have our best campaign in the Champions Trophy, and then we had some guys playing in the Champions League in India and others playing some domestic cricket.

"It's really now the start of the season for us. We'll be together for a lengthy period of time, and it's about building the blocks again and really focussing on our cricket, making sure that that's our priority.

"No-one expects Zimbabwe to give us too much competition, but for us it's about getting into our work, making sure that our skills are really good, connecting as a team again and fitting into our roles again, especially ahead of the one-day and Twenty20 series against England.

"Hopefully, we'll play a good brand of cricket in the next two games."

There were some changes to the team to play in Sunday's match, with veteran all-rounder Jacques Kallis sidelined with a side injury, JP Duminy receiving treatment for shin splints and Wayne Parnell recovering from an ankle injury.

Free State all rounder Ryan McLaren will make his debut for South Africa, while Charl Langeveldt and Alviro Petersen, who last played for South Africa in Bangladesh last year, return to the team.

The selectors have made some changes to the batting order, with Kallis, who used to bat at number three, set to open the batting with Smith this summer.

AB De Villiers and JP Duminy will bat at three and four. Hashim Amla will cover for Kallis when he is not available.

"We've got two world-class players in AB and JP and we're looking to get them in the game earlier than they have been," explained Smith.

"They are our most adaptable players - they adapt well to different surfaces and different pitches. We feel that with the consistency of Jacques (Kallis) at the top, we can create the windows for JP and AB to play with a bit more freedom."

Petersen, who normally opens for the Highveld Lions, will bat at number five.

"Ideally, we would have liked him to have had a chance to play there before having him bat at number five in an international, but these guys are professionals and need to be able to adapt," said Smith.

"The selectors felt that he deserved an opportunity to play for South Africa because of the performances he's put in. He's been one of the top performers in domestic cricket, and they believe he's good enough to adapt to his new role.

"He's got a lot of talent and there are a lot of guys he can learn from in this group."

Smith said the players' skills levels were good. "They've all got a lot of time in their legs.

"Some have been making lots of runs in domestic matches, and I think the skills levels are high."

South African team for first ODI against Zimbabwe:
Graeme Smith (capt), Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers, Mark Boucher, Alviro Petersen, Albie Morkel, Ryan McLaren, Johan Botha, Dale Steyn, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Charl Langeveldt, Roelof van der Merwe (12th man)

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