South Africa's three-Test series against Australia gets under way at Kingsmead in Durban on October 9 without Kagiso Rabada, who has been left out of the hosts' playing XI with a right hamstring issue. Anrich Nortje comes in instead, returning to Test cricket for the first time since March 2023 after a long run of back and hip injuries, as part of Australia's first Test tour of South Africa since 2018.
Rabada picked up the hamstring problem during winter training and has not featured in a match since the IPL in May. Captain Temba Bavuma, confirming the XI on Thursday, said the team management chose not to rush him back: "I think we did go the conservative route to give him a couple of extra days to get as close as he can be to 100 per cent fitness." South Africa are hopeful he can return for the second Test in Gqeberha, which starts October 18, though nothing has been confirmed.
Nortje's return is the more eye-catching team-news line from Durban. He is without a Test appearance in more than three years and has had limited red-ball bowling in recent seasons. He partners Marco Jansen with the new ball, with all-rounder Wiaan Mulder as the side's third seamer and Keshav Maharaj and Simon Harmer both selected as frontline spinners.
South Africa's team for the opening Test is: Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, David Bedingham, Temba Bavuma (c), Tristan Stubbs, Wiaan Mulder, Kyle Verreynne (wk), Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Simon Harmer and Nortje. Bedingham returns to the middle order after scoring twice for Western Province in domestic first-class cricket this season, giving the top six a mix of recent red-ball form and World Test Championship-cycle experience.
Australia arrive as the top-ranked Test side for a tour remembered, on their last visit in 2018, for the ball-tampering scandal in Cape Town. A three-match series that continues at Gqeberha (October 18-22) and concludes at Newlands (October 27-31) will test a South African pace attack that goes into the opener without two of its frontline options, even with Nortje's recall offering a genuine point of difference with the ball.
More on the build-up is available on SportGod's series preview, with live scores from Kingsmead on SportGod's live matches page and data-backed match forecasts on SportGod's predictions page.
Team news, injury details and the playing XI in this article are verified against same-day and freshly re-checked reporting as of October 9, 2026.
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