Australia begin a three-Test series in South Africa on October 9 at Kingsmead, Durban, their first Test tour of the country since the 2018 series remembered for the ball-tampering scandal at Newlands. Captain Pat Cummins has said he "can't wait" to lead the side back, and six players from that 2018 squad remain in this one: Cummins himself, along with Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Steve Smith and Matthew Renshaw.
Australia's 16-man Test squad is Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cooper Connolly, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc and Beau Webster. Labuschagne keeps his place despite a quiet run of Test form, while Cooper Connolly, Matthew Kuhnemann and Michael Neser have all been added to the touring party for a trip selectors clearly see as needing depth across both bowling and batting options.
Hosts South Africa have named a preliminary squad of 18 under captain Temba Bavuma: Marques Ackerman, David Bedingham, Corbin Bosch, Gerald Coetzee, Tony de Zorzi, Simon Harmer, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Senuran Muthusamy, Anrich Nortje, Dane Paterson, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs and Kyle Verreynne alongside Bavuma. Gerald Coetzee, Anrich Nortje and Dane Paterson all return from injury layoffs, while seamers Ottneil Baartman, Kwena Maphaka and Lungi Ngidi are all ruled out with hamstring problems — a significant dent to South Africa's pace options heading into a series at venues historically suited to seam bowling.
The series runs across three coastal grounds that have traditionally rewarded fast bowling: the first Test at Kingsmead, Durban from October 9-13, followed by a Test at Gqeberha from October 18 and the series finale in Cape Town from October 27. With both attacks missing personnel to injury — Australia's depth bowlers filling in for a squad built around Cummins, Hazlewood and Starc, South Africa patching together a pace unit without three first-choice options — the series looks set to be shaped as much by who stays fit as by what happens on the field.
Australia's last Test visit to South Africa, in 2018, ended with Steve Smith banned for a year and stripped of the captaincy after the ball-tampering episode at Cape Town, while David Warner was suspended and removed from all leadership roles. Smith is back in the squad as a senior batter rather than captain, with Cummins — uninvolved in that scandal — now leading the side. The symbolism of the return, eight years on, is not lost on either camp, even if the cricket itself will be decided by two attacks short of their first-choice bowling resources.
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Squad lists, venue dates and the 2018 series context in this article are verified against same-day and freshly re-checked reporting, current as of October 4, 2026.
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