CHRISTCHURCH, Feb 15: South Africa believe they can knock Australia off their perch and become the dominant team in world one-day cricket, South African coach Eric Simons said on Sunday.

"It's a goal for the guys to stay focused on," Simons told the New Zealand Press Association. Simons said that after defeating New Zealand last week in the opening match of their five-match series, the Proteas were now looking to inflict a heavy series defeat.

"If one's dominant, one needs to maintain the dominance and that's the sign of a true champion side," he said ahead of the next match here on Tuesday. "It's not just a side that picks themselves up, but also how do we handle success? We'd like to believe we're going to dominate and maintain it."

Simons, who played 23 One-day Internationals before coaching his Western Province side to the national title, was aware that wins away from home and the margin of the series win would bring more ranking points.

"There are no dead rubbers, if we happen to get a 5-0 or 6-0 that's important to us, it moves us closer to our ultimate goal. -AFP