South Africa will take on Australia in a marquee three-match Test series at home, with the first Test in Durban’s Kingsmead starting from Friday. This will be Australia’s first Test series on South African soil since the 2018 tour, which was rocked by the controversial Sandpapergate scandal.
announced their playing XI for the first Test on Thursday, a day ahead of the series opener.
The Proteas announced two specialist spinners, Keshav Maharaj and Simon Harmer, in the playing XI for the first Test.
There were a few other notable changes too, with pacer Anrich Nortje set to play his first Test since 2023. Veteran pacer , however, has been ruled out of the first Test due to a hamstring injury.
The surface at Kingsmead is an important factor behind South Africa’s decision to name two specialist spinners for the first Test. Although the Durban venue has historically been associated with pace and bounce, its conditions can also offer opportunities for spinners, especially as the Test progresses.
South Africa captain Temba Bavuma said he expected the conditions to become more favourable for spin after the opening days, allowing the two specialist spinners to influence the match as the surface wears.
“Those two spin twins have added another dimension to our bowling attack. As much as we’ve always been about fast bowling, but when conditions have allowed for spinners to come into the game, they’ve been able to play an effective role,” Bavuma said at the pre-match press conference on Thursday. “There’s a healthy competition between them, so that always helps,” he added.
Their different angles and variations allow South Africa to present Australia’s batters with two distinct challenges, potentially creating opportunities to build pressure through sustained spells.
The decision follows South Africa’s recent experience at Kingsmead in the ODI series against , when spin played a significant role.
However, the Test selection is not based solely on those results; the longer format presents a different challenge, and Australia is expected to field a different batting combination.
Rabada’s omission due to an injury is another significant factor in the tweaking of South Africa’s bowling attack. The pacer is recovering from a hamstring injury sustained in June and has been given additional time to regain full fitness rather than being rushed back for the series opener.
Rabada’s absence also puts significant pressure on Nortje and Marco Jansen to lead the pace attack. Nortje’s return offers South Africa an option capable of generating high speeds, while Jansen provides left-arm pace and additional batting depth.
Wiaan Mulder also gives the hosts another seam-bowling option, allowing South Africa to combine three specialist bowling options capable of delivering pace with Maharaj and Harmer’s contrasting spin.
The three-match Test series is part of the 2025-27 World Test Championship (WTC) cycle. South Africa had beaten Australia by five wickets in the final of the 2023-25 edition.
Australia lead the current standings with a points percentage (PCT) of 80 (96 points), with the Proteas in second place at 75 (36 points).
South Africa playing XI for first Test vs Australia: Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, David Bedingham, Temba Bavuma (Captain), Tristan Stubbs, Wiaan Mulder, Kyle Verreynne (Wicketkeeper), Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Simon Harmer, Anrich Nortje.
