Alastair Cook says AB de Villiers is "a brave man" to risk winding up James Anderson on the eve of the final Test.
England go into the fourth game in Centurion with an unassailable 2-0 lead over South Africa, but that did not prevent De Villiers highlighting England's "weaknesses" ahead of Friday's start.
The South Africa Test captain claimed to have identified chinks in the tourists' batting line-up, but it was his comments on the England bowlers that caught Cook's eye.
An observation that "some of the guys have lost some pace over the years" was interpreted as a dig at Anderson, England's leading Test wicket-taker, who has just three series scalps at more than 54 each.
Cook said: "I think he is obviously trying to wind everything up to make it competitive.
"I'm sure if Jimmy reads that he'll have a word to say. Some of his speeds have been pretty good in this series and he hasn't quite had the luck, certainly in the last game.
"It's a brave man to call Jimmy Anderson out but it spices it up a little bit, doesn't it?"
England's attack will be missing the injured Steve Finn, and Cook admitted the management face "a big decision" in choosing between Mark Footitt, Chris Jordan and Chris Woakes, who played in the first Test.
The batting line-up is likely to remain unchanged and the captain is calling for more support for Joe Root, Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow, the three men comfortably clear of the rest in the batting averages.
He said: "A lot of runs have been scored by Joe, Ben and Jonny. They've scored the majority of the runs, which is great for those guys but others haven't quite contributed, myself included.
"We've got the opportunity to do that and I'm really looking forward to this week to see how people respond."