Graeme Smith insists his South Africa side will not be rusty when they get the Champions Trophy under way in Pretoria on Tuesday.

The Proteas, who are favourites for the title, open the two-week tournament with a clash against Sri Lanka at Supersport Park. It will be their first competitive match since the World Twenty20 in June, but the captain believes they will not be hampered by the lack of game time.

"One of our major challenges as a team going into this tournament is our lack of competitive games," he said. "But we have really focused hard in the last three weeks to train as well as we can by making it as competitive as possible."

He added: "We have created a lot of scenarios and challenges which will best enhance our abilities.

"The guys are motivated and excited and I think we can use the freshness to our advantage by getting in and playing good cricket up front."

The hosts will be without Herschelle Gibbs after the opener suffered a minor rib injury in a warm-up match against West Indies. Hashim Amla is expected to deputise.