Australia begin a lengthy tour of South Africa with a three-match ODI series that opens at Kingsmead in Durban on September 24, followed by matches at the Wanderers in Johannesburg on September 27 and a day-night fixture at JB Marks Oval in Potchefstroom on September 30. Fresh off a 3-0 ODI sweep of Zimbabwe, Pat Cummins's side arrive as favourites against a South African attack that has been hit by a run of pace-bowling injuries in the build-up.
Kagiso Rabada was the first to go, ruled out of the ODI series after damaging his hamstring in winter training. Ottneil Baartman followed with a hamstring injury of his own, with uncapped seamer Duan Jansen called up as his replacement. Then, on September 18, Lungi Ngidi was also ruled out with a right hamstring injury, with South Africa turning to 20-year-old Nqobani Mokoena — who made his ODI debut against Namibia earlier this year — as cover.
With three first-choice quicks unavailable, South Africa's ODI squad for the series reads: Temba Bavuma (c), Corbin Bosch, Matthew Breetzke, Gerald Coetzee, Quinton de Kock, Tony de Zorzi, Bjorn Fortuin, Duan Jansen, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kwena Maphaka, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Nqobani Mokoena, Ryan Rickelton and Tristan Stubbs. Marco Jansen and Coetzee remain as the senior pace options, with Maphaka, Duan Jansen and Mokoena — none with extensive senior white-ball experience — filling out the rest of the attack.
Australia head into the series with the batting depth they showed off in Zimbabwe, where a No. 11 partnership got them home in the decider. A fully fit pace attack and a batting order that has scored heavily throughout the Zimbabwe tour make Australia's position considerably more settled than their hosts', even before accounting for home conditions.
Three injury withdrawals in a single pace attack ahead of a series against the world's most consistent white-ball side is about as difficult a build-up as a team can have. South Africa's batting — anchored by Bavuma, Markram, de Kock and Stubbs — is capable of setting or chasing competitive totals, but an attack built around two experienced bowlers and three largely untested ones will be tested hard by an Australian order that has scored 350-plus twice already on this tour of the region. The bigger picture for South Africa is the three-Test series that follows in October, by which point Rabada and Ngidi's recovery timelines will matter far more than this ODI series' result.
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Squad and injury details are verified against same-day reporting, current as of September 21, 2026.
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