Durban: Australia have asked for the stump microphones to be turned down when the ball is not in play against South Africa as they prepare to turn the heat up on the Proteas when they resume their rivalry in Durban on Thursday.

Fresh from using on-field verbal tactics to their advantage in a 4-0 Ashes victory in the summer, Steve Smith's men will arrive at Kingsmead ready to try and unsettle the opposition again in a bid to maintain their unbeaten post-apartheid record in the country.

'Go for it': England tried to get under Steve Smith's skin and he has no issue if South Africa try the same tactic. Rick Rycroft

Their desire to have the stump microphones muted when the ball is dead suggests they would rather not have what is said on the ground beamed out to the viewing public.

In Australia, Channel 9's microphone fader is generally turned up and down by an operator as each ball is bowled, capturing sound effects as a delivery is sent down, and immediately before and after. The fader is usually turned down during the period between deliveries and overs.

However, in South Africa the microphones tend to be left on more often.

Australia, as a result, have asked the local broadcaster and match officials to keep the sound down when the ball is dead during the first Test, reminding them of ICC regulations that dictate that should be the case.

"What happens on the field stays on the field," Australian spinner Nathan Lyon said when asked about the prospect of a verbal battle over the next five days.

"We're all grown men. We compete hard. We know where the line is. We headbutt it probably, but we are not going to go over the line.

"It's a mental game as well as a physical game. If something is going to be said, then no doubt it will be said from both camps.

“I know when I go out to bat I get a warm welcome from most of them. It's part of the game. It's Test-match cricket, it's challenging, it's competitive, you're playing for your country. It's a great battle. We pay the South Africans a lot of respect and I've got no doubt that goes both ways.

It is going to be one hell of a series and I’m pretty excited about it."

Smith has already indicated that the tourists may look to fire up South African paceman Kagiso Rabada, who was suspended for a Test last year after a stump microphone caught him telling Ben Stokes to "f--- off" as he delivered an explosive send-off to the England all-rounder at Lord's.

Australia have a history with stump microphones in South Africa, and it is not just sledging but outbursts of frustration that have been captured on audio.

On their most recent visit, for limited-overs matches in 2016, Aaron Finch was heard walking from the middle expressing his expletive-laden rage at being dismissed via a controversial catch. And in the 2006 Test series, the Australian team was disappointed the microphones were not turned down between balls, with commentator Tony Greig saying at the time the sledging was "the sort of thing that can lose your licence to air".

An aggresive approach in the field was also a feature of Australia's 2-1 win over South Africa on their most recent Test tour there four years ago.

AB de Villiers has previously said the 2014 series was "the most abuse we’ve got on the cricket field", while Faf du Plessis, now the captain, described Michael Clarke's Australians as "like a pack of dogs" in the field.

Du Plessis has since said, though, that the Australian team under Smith was more moderate and "let the cricket do the talking".

That wasn't always the case in the Ashes, however. Australia's treatment of Jonny Bairstow during the first Ashes Test in November was not received well by England, leading veteran seamer James Anderson to call them bullies.

The sledging of Bairstow about his bizarre nightclub greeting of Australian opener Cameron Bancroft was a deliberate ploy and was picked up on a stump microphone, with David Warner heard to say to Anderson that "you shouldn't headbutt our mates". That remark, though, was not aired live and was only broadcast when radio station Triple M later played the audio.

As for whether South Africa might follow the lead of England and try and distract Smith by getting in his ear, the Australian captain was undeterred.

"If they do, go for it," Smith said. "It doesn't bother me. A bit of a verbal challenge actually makes me switch on a bit more and gets me in for the fight. So they can go for their lives."