South Africa captain AB de Villiers’ focus turned to November’s tour of Australia, after Monday’s third and final ODI against New Zealand at Seddon Park was washed out.

Victorious in the opening two fixtures at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui, the Proteas required a third to leapfrog India at the helm of the International Cricket Council rankings.

A score of 157 for 3 in 30.4 overs, reached on the back of opener Quinton de Kock’s solid 80 not out, promised plenty. Inclement weather, however, had the final say in Hamilton.

‘The wicket lent itself to a really good game of cricket, so it’s a shame about the weather. We set it up nicely. We could have got a decent total, it would have been an exciting game of cricket,’ said De Villiers.

‘We will take some confidence out of it. We will take this experience to Australia. Hopefully, we are prepared for the next few challenges. We are pretty happy with our preparations.’

The Proteas and Australians will meet for three Twenty20 Internationals and five ODIs between 5 and 23 November, when preparation for next year’s World Cup in the same country will be near the top of the agenda.

‘We would like to do well against the Australians as well and go home with all the experience before the World Cup. Coming here before the World Cup was all about getting used to conditions,’ added De Villiers.

‘Hopefully we are fully prepared when we get to the World Cup. Preparation looks good on paper, but it doesn’t always work that way. We’d love to go to Australia and win that series as well.’