Jonathan Trott will not be exposed to the abuse from fans in South Africa that greeted Kevin Pietersen on his first tour to the land of his birth in 2005. That is the hope of Jacques Kallis, anyway, who said that Trott, the England batsman born in Cape Town, would be welcomed as a guest and an opponent to be respected.

Pietersen was heavily jeered by the South African fans when he toured with England almost five years ago and Andy Flower, the England team director, said last week that Trott, who made a hundred on his Test debut against Australia in August, could also expect a hostile reception.

But Kallis, the veteran South Africa all-rounder, said that the cases were different, with Trott not seeking to make the same political points about South Africa’s policy of racial selection that Pietersen had.

“Trott is very different to Pietersen,” Kallis said. “KP was quite outspoken and that got some people’s backs up. I don’t think Jonathan is that interested in politics.”

With Andrew Strauss and Matt Prior also born in South Africa, albeit brought up in England, a quarter of England’s squad are returning home, so to speak, but Kallis is relaxed that some of his countrymen, including Craig Kieswetter, the Johannesburg-born Somerset wicketkeeper who was named in the England Performance Programme squad this week, are switching sides. “A lot of our guys are going overseas,” he said. “They’ve made a choice, for financial or career reasons, that they don’t want to play for South Africa and we can’t hold it against them. We’ll treat them with the same respect we would any opponent.”

Kallis respects England but is confident that South Africa can defend their No 1 ranking in Test cricket, won from Australia this year, and make strides to overhaul India and Australia and regain their top place in the one-day rankings, which they let slip in September.

“England did very well to beat Australia in the Ashes,” he said. “They are a good, well-balanced side. But they have not had the same results away as they have at home. We have a solid core of players coming on and I’m sure we can be No 1 in both forms of the game again.”

South Africa have two one-day matches next week against Zimbabwe, who were dismissed for 44 by Bangladesh on Tuesday, before the Twenty20 and one-day series with England, which starts on November 13. Kallis has been carrying a slight side strain that he suffered playing for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Champions League Twenty20 last month, but says that it will not prevent him from playing.

“I’ve been very lucky with injuries over my career,” he said. “But I’m a rare breed. The amount of cricket we play these days means that players such as Andrew Flintoff are ending their careers early.”

The game has changed a lot since Kallis, 34, appeared on the international scene in 1995. His debut was against England in the Test that followed a future Times Chief Cricket Correspondent’s 11-hour occupation of the crease in Johannesburg. Last month, Kallis made an unbeaten 73 in little more than an hour for Bangalore in the Champions League.

“Twenty20 has been a real eye-opener for me,” Kallis, whose 10,277 Test runs have come at a more Atherton-esque pace, said. “I still enjoy Test cricket, though, and I’ve a few more years playing it, I hope.”

At least his sister will not be celebrating his dismissals this winter. Janine Kallis was a cheerleader for Delhi Daredevils and Chennai Super Kings during this year’s Indian Premier League, which was relocated to South Africa, and her gyrations at the fall of every Bangalore wicket were not appreciated by her brother. “She was only doing her job, but she didn’t have to look so pleased,” he complained.

• Jacques Kallis was promoting Sky Sports’ live coverage of England’s tour to South Africa, which starts on November 13.