ADELAIDE, Australia (Reuters)
Australia cannot afford to relax against South Africa despite their crushing 246-run win in the first Test, says captain Steve Waugh.

The Australians took a 1-0 lead in the three-match series to decide Test cricket's top side with ease but Waugh said his players should not be complacent before the second Test starting in Melbourne on December 26.

Australia beat India easily in the first of three Tests on the subcontinent earlier this year only to lose the series 2-1 and Waugh said his players had learnt their lesson.

"It's nice to win the first battle and definitely gives us a lot of confidence going into Melbourne," Waugh said. "But I'm sure South Africa are more than capable of winning the next Test match if we don't play well and they play their best so we're not going to get carried away."

Waugh said the Australians were keen to prove a point after being criticised following their drawn series with New Zealand and was confident his players could repeat their performances in the remaining two Tests.

"There's a lot at stake with the number one ranking and we were looking forward to this series to prove a point that we're still a good side," the 36-year-old Waugh said.

"We played good cricket and I'd like to think we can play just as well in Melbourne and Sydney so the pressure's back on South Africa to try and square the series."

Australia sealed victory just before tea on the final day on Tuesday when the South Africans collapsed to be all out for 128 in their second innings after being set a near-impossible 375 to win.

Waugh paid tribute to his bowlers, describing Shane Warne's eight wickets for the match as a "monumental" performance, but said it was Australia's batting on Monday, when they scored 309 for 7, that set up the win.

"I think we played some great cricket, particularly in the last two days. We put a lot of pressure on South Africa and we took our chances," he said.

"I thought the first three days were just good hard Test match cricket where we were sorting each other. When you put a side under pressure chasing 375 in that situation they'll either go pretty close or they'll fall a long way short, that's normally how it goes.

"Once we got two wickets last night we were reasonably confident we were a good chance of bowling them out cheaply but you're never really sure how things are going to pan out."

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