South Africa captain Aiden Markram says his side can expect to have a target on their back when they begin a new cycle of the World Test Championship as defending champions.

about:blank South Africa play a two-test series in Pakistan, starting on Sunday, and two games in India in November as they bid to retain the trophy they won in June by beating Australia by five wickets at Lord’s. The World Test Championship is decided at the end of a two-year cycle, with the top two teams competing in a one-off five-day match.

“I suppose you create a bit of a target on your back if youve won (the WTC), and if thats the case, its fair. We want to chase a place in the final again and lift that trophy once again but realise each team will be coming for us,” said Markram, who stands in as skipper for Temba Bavuma who has been ruled out of the tour with a calf strain.

“We, as a team, have to keep getting better and improving and playing well in all different types of conditions. It starts for us in Pakistan, and its a challenge the boys will be up for,” he told a press conference on Monday.

South Africa have been practising on specially prepared spinning wickets at Pretorias High Performance Centre.

“There were a couple of nets prepared where the spin is really exaggerated, and youd rather err on that side, and maybe then its a bit easier when we get to Pakistan,” Markram said.

“Were expecting to face a lot of spin over there, and its also, naturally, a lot lower there from a seam point of view. Theres a lot of skiddy, so its hard to try and emulate that here in South Africa, but weve been looking to put a lot of emphasis on finding a way to train for that.”

The first test against Pakistan is in Lahore and the second begins on October 20 in Rawalpindi.