Australia retain familiar Test formula for 2026 tour of South Africa
Australia will tour South Africa for a Test series in 2026, fielding a side that echoes the team which faced that challenge in 2018 as selectors again lean on a core quartet of frontline bowlers. The selection has revived comparisons with the earlier tour as Australia attempt to move on from the difficulties of 2018.
The 2018 side relied on Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc as its primary attack alongside an aggressive left-handed opener and Steve Smith in the middle order; this time the same four bowlers have added a further 998 Test wickets to their careers and the batting still centres on one aggressive left-hander plus Smith while much of the rest of the line-up remains improvised. In 2018 the makeshift batting included Cameron Bancroft, Usman Khawaja and the Marsh brothers; the current squad shows similar uncertainty outside the established names.
Matt Renshaw has been prepared as Australia’s new opener in Durban but his build-up consisted of a single innings against Bangladesh in Mackay, and Marnus Labuschagne’s warm-up century came in a match the piece described as so relaxed he “might have played in flip-flops.” Cameron Green produced a notable contribution two Test innings ago before suffering an injury, leaving the side to cover both his bowling and batting roles.
Beau Webster will provide bowling cover while the selectors must choose between Cooper Connolly and Nic Maddinson to replace Green with the bat. Connolly’s early career is characterised by high-profile debut contributions—his fourth Big Bash game, fourth List A match and first-class debut all came in tournament finals—but he has played little first-class cricket since and “never exceed[d] his 90 on debut,” with his long-format bowling described as a non-event.
Nic Maddinson’s recall has provoked debate: he has not played since March 2025, when he made 4 and 0 at the end of a season in which he averaged 17, yet national coach Andrew McDonald defended the selection, saying, “From 2018 to 2024, he was one of the leading players in Shield cricket.” The article notes that selections in the current conditions often favour reputational signals over recent output because of the lack of obvious next contenders from state cricket.
South Africa’s 18-man group was still to be trimmed and pace leader Kagiso Rabada was being given time to overcome a hamstring injury; if Rabada is unavailable the options mentioned include Corbin Bosch joining Marco Jansen and Anrich Nortje, Simon Harmer partnering Keshav Maharaj in a spin pairing, and the possibility of Jansen batting at No 7 if his form warrants it. Wiaan Mulder is available as an all-round seam option and could be preferred to Tristan Stubbs with the bat according to the discussion in the piece.
The preview characterises the forthcoming series as likely to be low-scoring and error-prone — “a series of unforced errors and modest scores” — with the victor being the side that can assemble the most sustained resistance. The outcome also carries WTC implications: it could move either Australia or South Africa closer to another spot in a World Test Championship final, the decider where the two nations met last year; the article adds that Smith could “slay a demon or two.”