South Africa Need a Response as 2nd Test Against Australia Begins in Gqeberha

South Africa need a response as the second Test against Australia gets under way at St George's Park, Gqeberha, from October 18, trailing 0-1 in the three-match series after Australia's 214-run win in Durban. A series defeat on home soil would be a significant setback for a side that reached this year's World Test Championship final.

Rabada's return

Kagiso Rabada, who missed the Durban Test as he managed a hamstring issue, is in line to return to the XI for Gqeberha, which would give South Africa's attack back its spearhead against an Australian batting line-up that was comfortable for long periods in the opener.

Rickelton behind the stumps, order in flux

As confirmed when the squad was named, coach Shukri Conrad has settled on Ryan Rickelton taking over wicketkeeping duties after two failures opening the batting in Durban, with Kyle Verreynne making way from the gloves. That leaves South Africa's top order and Aiden Markram's opening partner still to be finalized heading into the toss, with Matthew Breetzke — recalled in place of a dropped Tristan Stubbs — the likeliest candidate to add fresh batting depth.

Australia's own calls

Cameron Green, who missed the Durban Test with an abdominal strain, is working his way back towards the squad, though his availability for Gqeberha was not yet confirmed heading into the match. Australia go in full of confidence after a one-sided opener built on Josh Hazlewood's six-wicket haul and will look to seal the series with another win here before the finale at Newlands from October 27.

Why it matters

This is as close to a must-win Test as South Africa will play this home season. Lose at Gqeberha and the series is gone with one match to spare; win, and Bavuma's side carries momentum — and a settled batting order, finally — into Cape Town. How Rickelton's reshuffled role and Breetzke's recall play out will shape the next fortnight of South African cricket far more than any individual innings in Durban did.

Follow the Test

Live scores and ball-by-ball coverage from Gqeberha are available on SportGod's live matches page, with data-backed match forecasts on SportGod's predictions page and more Test cricket coverage on the SportGod blog.

Team news in this article is verified against same-day and freshly re-checked reporting as of October 18, 2026; Kagiso Rabada's and Cameron Green's final selection for this Test were not yet confirmed at the time of writing.