Australia resume bitter rivalry with South Africa – with careers on line

By the Editorial Team · Monday, October 5, 2026

Australia and South Africa have commenced a three-match Test series in Durban, marking South Africa’s first home Tests since their World Test Championship win and the first Australian tour since the 2018 ball-tampering scandal. The closely watched series will test the form and resilience of both sides amid key player absences and serves as a crucial buildup to upcoming international tournaments and England’s Ashes preparations.

Australia and South Africa begin a highly anticipated three-match Test series on Friday, with the opening match set to take place in Durban. The series marks South Africa’s first home Tests since their victory in the World Test Championship (WTC) final at Lord’s 16 months ago, and pits two of the world’s top-ranked teams against each other. Australia currently lead South Africa by seven points in the ICC Test rankings.

The Test matches will be played in Durban, Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth), and Cape Town between October 6 and 31. This series holds added significance given that South Africa has not played Test cricket at home in nearly a year, having played only away series in Bangladesh, Pakistan, and India since their championship win. Conversely, Australia enters the tour amid a strenuous schedule that began in August with a home series against Bangladesh and will include at least 21 Tests over the coming year, featuring tough away matches in South Africa, India, and England.

This tour is also Australia’s first Test series in South Africa since the controversial 2018 series, which was marred by the ball-tampering scandal that severely damaged relations between the two teams. The events of that series included on-field provocations, crowd taunts, and the exposure of deliberate ball tampering by Australian players, which led to bans for three Australian cricketers—Steve Smith, David Warner, and Cameron Bancroft—along with significant fallout including the resignation of the Australian coach and Cricket Australia chairman.

Notably, several players from both sides who participated in the 2018 series remain in the squads for this upcoming contest. Australia’s lineup includes Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, and Steve Smith. For South Africa, Temba Bavuma, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, and Kagiso Rabada return from that era.

Australia faces additional challenges with injuries sidelining key players such as Cameron Green and Josh Inglis. Their replacements include Sam Harper, 29, and Nic Maddinson, 34, the latter making a rare return to Test cricket after more than a decade. Questions remain over the form of some established players like Marnus Labuschagne, who has not scored a Test century in over three years, and Lyon, whose role appears increasingly under pressure.

South Africa enters the series on the back of a 2-1 win against Australia in the recent One Day International (ODI) series and is poised for a busy season that includes a home Test series against England and the 50-over World Cup on African soil for the first time since 2003. The series comes amid a broader sense of growth and optimism in South African cricket.

The timing of the series has drawn some criticism; former South Africa batsman Daryll Cullinan remarked that October is not an ideal month for a marquee contest and predicted low-scoring matches dominated by bowlers. Nonetheless, the series is expected to attract intense attention, with England closely monitoring proceedings as preparation for their upcoming Ashes series against Australia in eight months.

The three Tests will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Cricket.

This article was reported by synthesizing coverage from multiple independent news outlets to present a balanced, unbiased account. Read about our editorial standards. Spotted an error? Let us know.