South Africa have named their 17-player squad for the second Test against Australia at St George's Park, Gqeberha, from October 18, with Tristan Stubbs dropped and Matthew Breetzke recalled in his place. The change comes days after Australia's 214-run win in the series-opening Durban Test, Temba Bavuma's first defeat since taking over as South Africa's full-time Test captain.
Stubbs managed scores of 32 and 1 in Durban, extending a lean run with the bat that had already drawn scrutiny in South African cricket media in the days before this squad was named. Breetzke, who had been in and out of the Test XI through the past year, returns as his direct replacement in the middle order.
Perhaps the more significant shift is behind the stumps: Ryan Rickelton is set to take over wicketkeeping duties for the Gqeberha Test, with Kyle Verreynne — who kept wicket in Durban — still included in the squad as a specialist batting option. It is the kind of role swap coach Shukri Conrad has previously used to add batting depth without sacrificing control behind the stumps.
Kagiso Rabada has been named in the squad as he continues his return from injury, but Conrad has not yet confirmed whether the fast bowler will actually play in Gqeberha. Left-hander Tony de Zorzi was not considered for selection, still working his way back from a left hamstring injury.
South Africa go into the second Test needing a response after being outplayed for long periods in Durban, where Australia's pace attack — led by Josh Hazlewood's six-wicket haul — did the early damage. A series loss at home would be a significant setback for a side that reached the World Test Championship final earlier this year; the three-match series concludes at Newlands, Cape Town, from October 27-31.
Squad changes after a heavy defeat always carry extra weight, and dropping a player as talented as Stubbs — rather than simply tinkering at the margins — signals how seriously the South African camp is treating the must-win nature of Gqeberha. How Breetzke and a reshuffled top order respond will shape the storyline of this series far more than any single statistic from Durban.
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.
Squad details and player availability in this article are verified against same-day and freshly re-checked reporting as of October 15, 2026; the playing XI for the October 18 Test was not yet confirmed at the time of writing.
Try Sport God AI live
Live scores, AI predictions, and fantasy — free during IPL 2026.