South Africa recall Matthew Breetzke, hand gloves to Ryan Rickelton for Gqeberha Test vs Australia

South Africa have replaced Tristan Stubbs with Matthew Breetzke for the second Test against Australia, which begins in Gqeberha on Sunday. Ryan Rickelton will take over wicketkeeping duties for the hosts.

The change follows South Africa's defeat in Durban, where Stubbs scored 32 and 1 in the series opener and has been omitted despite having scored 94 against India in his previous Test innings around 11 months ago. Breetzke's recent limited-overs form played a part in his recall; he struck a century in the first ODI against Australia in Durban after spending the domestic season with South Africa's limited-overs squads in Namibia and against Australia.

Breetzke has two Test appearances, against Bangladesh in October 2024 and Zimbabwe in July 2025, in which he scored 14 runs, and his first-class average is 37.03 though he has not played a first-class match since February. South Africa head coach Shukri Conrad defended the selection: "Matt has been part of the squad before," Conrad said. "The fact that his ODI form is as hot as it is gave him an inside lane and more importantly, it's the attitude and the character Matt brings and has."

Rickelton assuming the gloves creates a selection dilemma for the batting order, with Kyle Verreynne potentially out of the starting XI despite remaining in the squad; Verreynne has not scored a Test half-century in his last 13 innings. South Africa must also decide whether Rickelton will continue opening alongside Aiden Markram or move down the order, a decision that would open a spot at the top of the lineup.

Tony de Zorzi is unavailable as he recovers from a hamstring injury; he was Markram's most regular opening partner during the 2023-25 World Test Championship cycle. The likely options to fill the opening vacancy include asking Breetzke to open or selecting uncapped batter Marques Ackerman, who generally bats in the middle order.

Kagiso Rabada is expected to return after missing the first Test because of a hamstring niggle. South Africa have retained their remaining 16 players, including six other fast bowlers — Anrich Nortje, Marco Jansen, Wiaan Mulder, Gerald Coetzee, Dane Paterson and Corbin Bosch — and have also kept Keshav Maharaj, Simon Harmer and Senuran Muthusamy in the squad; only one spinner is likely to feature, with Maharaj and Harmer having played in Durban.

"There are a few things to consider before we look at the final XI, but we are hell of excited," Conrad said. "But we have had the opportunity to lick our wounds and turn this ship in the right direction." Heavy rain is forecast for Sunday and the possibility of lost playing time could influence the hosts' final selection ahead of the start in Gqeberha.