Aussies Return to Cape Town for High-Stakes South Africa Test Tour
Australia prepares for a high-stakes three-Test series in South Africa, returning to Cape Town for the first time since the infamous 2018 Sandpapergate scandal.
Australia are set to square off against South Africa in the most anticipated overseas Test series since the 2023 Ashes. Returning to the country to play long-form cricket for the first time since the Sandpapergate scandal of 2018, the Australian line-up boasts plenty of survivors from that infamous tour eight years ago.
Having put their chances of a third consecutive World Test Championship final in jeopardy with a shock loss to Bangladesh in Darwin in August, the Aussies have more than just redemption to play for. The three-Test series continues the visitors’ action-packed 12-month calendar featuring a further 18 Tests, plus a potential World Test Championship final.
An experienced 16-man squad features several players whose spots in the team are in jeopardy, none more so than Marnus Labuschagne, who heads into his first Test series in his country of birth under heavy pressure to perform. Reigning World Test Champions South Africa are riding high off their victory over Australia in the ODI series, and hold strong recent history on their side against their antipodean rivals.
The Proteas stunned Pat Cummins’ men in last cycle’s WTC final at Lord’s in 2025, with opener Aiden Markram’s stellar fourth-innings century securing South Africa their first major international trophy since their readmission to the game in 1991. Australia’s record in South Africa remains formidable, having not lost a Test series in the nation between the 1970 season and Sandpapergate, while winning or drawing seven of seven series post-readmission.
The series begins with the first Test on Friday, 9 October 2026, at Kingsmead, Durban, starting at 6:30pm AEDT. The second Test follows on Sunday, 18 October, at St George’s Park in Gqeberha, before the tour concludes with the third Test on Tuesday, 27 October, at Newlands, Cape Town.
Australian selectors have retained all 13 players named in the second Test squad to face Bangladesh in August, alongside veteran seamer Michael Neser, back-up spinner Matt Kuhnemann, and young gun Cooper Connolly. Meanwhile, back-up batter and reserve wicketkeeper Josh Inglis is in doubt after returning home with a broken finger following the first ODI against South Africa.
The Proteas have named star quick Kagiso Rabada in an 18-man squad for the first Test in Durban after recovering from a hamstring tear. South Africa will however miss WTC final hero Lungi Ngidi, while express paceman Anrich Nortje is in line to play his first Test in more than three years.