Cricket: Aussie quick has sights on S Africa

After an impressive debut series in difficult Sri Lankan conditions, rookie Australia quick Trent Copeland feels well placed to excel on the coming test tour of South Africa.

The 25-year-old made a dream start in the first test at Galle, claiming his first scalp off just his second ball.

And although he would have liked to have bagged more than six wickets for the tour, Copeland was satisfied with his economy and the way he built pressure from one end.

His consistent medium pacers and ability to keep things tight gained Copeland plenty of admirers in Sri Lanka and he's now focused on cementing his position in the line-up on faster, bouncier pitches in South Africa.

The strong form of Peter Siddle when given a chance in the third test in Colombo, makes for an interesting selection battle between the fast bowlers in November's tests in Cape Town and Johannesburg.

Copeland says bowling effectively in Sri Lanka has him confident he can take his game to the next level and he's hoping selectors will show faith.

"Ideally that's where more fruitful things come for me, doing the hard yards in Sri Lanka and I suppose the rewards can come when I'm on wickets which may suit my type of bowling a little bit more," said Copeland.

"I'd like to think so [I've done enough] but you never know and in different conditions the roles will change and things like that.

"There's still plenty of room for improvement but the fact I can be relatively successful in Sri Lanka, it gives me confidence I can be successful anywhere in the world.

"I think provided I don't get carried away and I keep working hard, then there's no reason why I can't."

Copeland is straight back into Sydney grade cricket with club side St George today, as he aims to maintain intensity ahead of the tour.

After claiming the prized scalp of Sri Lankan opener Tillakaratne Dilshan first-up in Galle, Copeland said he overcame his nerves and is now backing himself to knock over the Proteas' big guns.

"They're a formidable opposition but that's what you play cricket for. You play to test yourself against the best." His aim is to "get rid of Graeme Smith and AB de Villiers, and [Hashin] Amla and [Jacques] Kallis and all those blokes that everyone talks about".

AAP