Cape Town (South Africa), Mar. 18 : Australian batsman Mike Hussey believes that the internal conflicts within the South African team could help unite the side against Australia in tomorrow''s third Test.

The South Africans have been in crisis in the past week with skipper Graeme Smith to miss the Cape Town Test through injury, meaning Ashwell Prince was recalled as skipper but a day later he was stripped of the captaincy and told to focus on his new role as opener.

Jacques Kallis, who has led the side once before in 2006 and quit the vice-captaincy a year later, has been named captain in a "one-off'''' capacity.

Middle-order batsman Prince is believed to have told selectors to give the captaincy to someone else after he was refused the right to have a say in the composition of the batting order.

"I think back to when we played against India in Australia (in January 2008),'''' Hussey said today in Cape Town.

"In Sydney there were similar sort of talk. We were two-nil up in the series, there was a lot of controversy going around and it sort of pulled their team together a bit tighter (with India winning the third Test in Perth).

"From my point of view, and our team''s point of view, I don''t think we really try to focus on them too much.

Hussey, 33, said Australia needs to keep that winning feeling going with so many inexperienced players in the side. (ANI)