Australia vs South Africa 2026 Tour: Schedule, Tips & Odds

South Africa won the Test series 2-1, taking the Newlands decider by 176 runs as Simon Harmer took 6 for 16. Results, reports and how our tips went across the ODIs and Tests.

Australia’s tour of South Africa is the biggest assignment of their 2026 away calendar: three ODIs followed by a three-Test series across September and October 2026, with the Tests counting towards the ICC World Test Championship. Below is the full schedule, what the conditions do to a touring side, and the betting angles for both formats.

Australia v South Africa 2026 ODI schedule

Match	Date	Venue
1st ODI ✅	Thursday 24 September 2026 (South Africa won by 67 runs)	Kingsmead, Durban
2nd ODI ✅	Sunday 27 September 2026 (South Africa won by 32 runs)	The Wanderers, Johannesburg
3rd ODI ✅	Wednesday 30 September 2026 (Australia won by 45 runs, DLS)	JB Marks Oval, Potchefstroom

 

1st ODI result: South Africa win by 67 runs

South Africa batted first and made 297 for 8. Matthew Breetzke top-scored with 112 off 106 balls before he was run out in the 48th over, and Marco Jansen hit 75 off 59 in a 107-run stand for the sixth wicket. Nathan Ellis took 3 for 57 and Adam Zampa 2 for 50.

Australia started the chase quickly, Mitchell Marsh making 60 off 36 as the openers put on 90 inside ten overs, but South Africa’s spinners took over from there. Keshav Maharaj finished with 4 for 20 from 9.2 overs and Bjorn Fortuin 2 for 34, and Australia were all out for 230 in the 42nd over. For the rest of the series, the lesson is the one this page opened with: do not price this like a home series. Losing Ngidi and Baartman did not blunt South Africa’s attack, because the damage came from spin.

2nd ODI result: South Africa win by 32 runs

Australia chose to bowl at the Wanderers and South Africa made 365 for 9. Temba Bavuma (103 off 116) and David Miller (142 off 93) shared a 156-run stand for the fourth wicket, and Miller was named player of the match. Jack Edwards took 5 for 67 in his second ODI, the first five-wicket haul of his List A career, and Josh Hazlewood 3 for 70.

Mitchell Marsh (84 off 53) and Travis Head (84 off 76) kept Australia in the chase, and Xavier Bartlett hit 50 off 28 late on, but they were all out for 333 in the last over. Lizaad Williams took 3 for 54, and the spinners Keshav Maharaj (2 for 54) and Bjorn Fortuin (2 for 70) squeezed the middle overs again. That is two defeats from two, with spin central to both, and the series is gone with a game to play. South Africa have now won their last seven completed ODIs against Australia, and they won by 111 runs the last time the sides met at Potchefstroom, in 2023.

3rd ODI result: Australia win by 45 runs (DLS)

South Africa chose to bowl and Australia made 322 for 9. Alex Carey top-scored with 74 off 88 and was named player of the match, Mitchell Marsh made 56 off 42 and Oliver Peake 48 off 53, and Corbin Bosch took 4 for 60. Rain cut South Africa’s chase to a revised target of 191 from 28 overs, and they finished on 145 for 4, with Ryan Rickelton unbeaten on 71. Adam Zampa and Xavier Bartlett took two wickets each.

It spared Australia a whitewash, but the series still went 2-1 to South Africa. The pattern across the three games is the one to carry into the Tests: South Africa’s spinners did the damage in both of their wins, and Australia’s best performance came when their quicks and Zampa bowled to a shortened chase.

Australia v South Africa 2026 Test schedule

Test	Dates	Venue
1st Test ✅	9–13 October 2026 (Australia won by 214 runs)	Kingsmead, Durban
2nd Test ✅	18–22 October 2026 (South Africa won by an innings and 31 runs)	St George’s Park, Gqeberha
3rd Test ✅	27–31 October 2026 (South Africa won by 176 runs)	Newlands, Cape Town

 

First Test: Kingsmead, 9 to 13 October

The first Test starts at Kingsmead in Durban on Friday 9 October, with the first ball at 9:30am local time, 6:30pm AEDT (5:30pm in Queensland). It is a rematch of the 2025 World Test Championship final, which South Africa won. Australia won the toss and chose to bat.

First Test report

Australia were bowled out for 390 on day two. South Africa’s seamers had them 124 for 6 on day one before bad light stopped play 24.4 overs early, and from there Matt Renshaw carried the innings, adding an unbeaten 63 with Pat Cummins that evening and going on to make 190 with the tail on day two. Wiaan Mulder took four wickets and Marco Jansen three, and Anrich Nortje, playing his first Test in more than three years, took two on day one.

Chasing 421, South Africa were bowled out for 206 on the fifth day, and Josh Hazlewood finished with 6 for 49. Australia had declared at 314 for 6 on day four, with Matt Renshaw adding 82 to his first-innings 190 and taking his first Test wicket, and South Africa had been 102 for 4 at stumps that night, with Aiden Markram unbeaten on 45.

Australia took the first Test by 214 runs after making 390 in the first innings (Renshaw 190) and bowling South Africa out for 284, with Pat Cummins taking 3 for 54. For punters, the series now rests on a Gqeberha pitch that is the slowest of the three Test venues, so spin and the draw price deserve a harder look in the second Test than they got at Kingsmead. We update this page for each Test.

Australia team news

Out: Cameron Green, with the lower abdominal strain from the third ODI, and Josh Inglis, who returned to Perth with a fractured finger and is due to rejoin the squad for the second Test. Sam Harper was called up as wicketkeeping cover and Nic Maddinson was added for his batting, and Alex Carey is the expected keeper.

Selection: Maddinson was picked at No. 5 and Beau Webster at No. 7. Nathan Lyon was the only spinner, with Matthew Kuhnemann left out, in line with coach Andrew McDonald’s comment that it “would have to be quite compelling” to play two.

Australia’s XI: Nic Maddinson, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Matt Renshaw, Alex Carey (wk), Beau Webster, Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood.

South Africa team news

Temba Bavuma captains a preliminary 18-man squad named on 28 September: Marques Ackerman (uncapped), David Bedingham, Corbin Bosch, Gerald Coetzee, Tony de Zorzi, Simon Harmer, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Senuran Muthusamy, Anrich Nortje, Dane Paterson, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs and Kyle Verreynne.

Fitness: Kagiso Rabada, who was recovering from a right hamstring injury, was left out and South Africa played without him. Anrich Nortje returned to Test cricket after his last Test in 2023 and took two wickets. Lungi Ngidi, Kwena Maphaka and Ottneil Baartman are out injured.

South Africa’s side included Temba Bavuma (c), Marco Jansen, Wiaan Mulder, Anrich Nortje, Keshav Maharaj and Simon Harmer, with Kyle Verreynne keeping wicket.

Kingsmead conditions

Pace has dominated recent Tests at Durban. Cricket Australia’s preview puts seamers at 46 wickets at an average of 22.51 since Covid, against 26 wickets at 27.11 for spinners, so a bowling attack built around pace and a fourth seamer in Webster fits the ground. Spin is still a factor if the surface dries out, which is why Australia brought two spinners. On day one the damage came from pace: Mulder, Jansen and Nortje took all six wickets.

Second Test: St George’s Park, 18 to 22 October

The second Test started at St George’s Park in Gqeberha on Sunday 18 October, with the first ball at 10am local, 7pm AEDT (6pm in Queensland). Australia went in 1-0 up.

South Africa team news

Tristan Stubbs has been dropped after scores of 32 and 1 in Durban, Matthew Breetzke comes into the squad and Ryan Rickelton takes the gloves. Kagiso Rabada returned after missing the first Test. Tony de Zorzi is still out with a hamstring injury.

Australia team news

Cameron Green was not fit, and Australia sprang a surprise by leaving out Nathan Lyon and picking Scott Boland as an extra seamer. Australia won the toss and bowled.

Second Test report: South Africa win by an innings and 31 runs

Rain cut the first day to 12.2 overs, and Scott Boland struck twice in two balls, but the Test belonged to South Africa from there. Temba Bavuma made 179 and was named player of the match, and Marco Jansen hit 85 as South Africa declared on 425 for 9. Jansen then took 5 for 33 as Australia were bowled out for 99 and asked to follow on.

Australia batted much better the second time. Travis Head made 121, his 13th Test century, and nightwatchman Scott Boland faced 166 balls for a Test-best 40, with Alex Carey unbeaten on 37. It was not enough: Kagiso Rabada (4 for 77) and Wiaan Mulder (3 for 64) took the last wickets on day five, Thursday 22 October, and Australia were all out for 295, 31 runs short of making South Africa bat again.

What it means: the series is level going to Newlands, and the first-innings 99 is the number that matters. Australia’s top order has now been beaten by South Africa’s seamers on a slow pitch, and Newlands is the most seam-friendly of the three grounds. The one worry for South Africa is Anrich Nortje, who left the field with a suspected groin injury in Australia’s second innings and did not bowl again.

Third Test: Newlands, 27 to 31 October

The series decider started at Newlands in Cape Town on Tuesday 27 October, with the first ball at 10:30am local, 7:30pm AEDT (6:30pm in Queensland). Both sides were playing for World Test Championship points as well as the series. The preview below was written before the Test; the report follows it.

Team news: South Africa are without Anrich Nortje, ruled out of the rest of the series with the groin injury from Gqeberha, and Gerald Coetzee comes in as a like-for-like replacement. Australia get Cameron Green back from his abdominal strain, although he will not bowl, and Josh Inglis is fit again after his broken finger. Steve Smith had a stiff neck in Gqeberha but is expected to play, and Nic Maddinson and Sam Harper have been released from the squad to play Sheffield Shield. Australia’s big call is Nathan Lyon or Scott Boland: Cricket Australia’s preview counts 84 wickets for fast bowlers at Newlands since 2020 against nine for spin, which points to Boland keeping his place. Teams are confirmed at the toss.

The odds: Ladbrokes had South Africa at $1.96, Australia at $2.25 and the draw at $8.25 on Monday night, 26 October, with South Africa $1.75 and Australia $2.00 in the draw no bet market.

The betting angle: South Africa have the momentum and the conditions, and Australia’s batting has to prove it can handle the seam after the 99. We lean South Africa, and draw no bet at $1.75 is the safer way in if you want your stake back on a draw. Newlands has produced some short Tests in recent years and both sides need the points, which makes a result more likely than a draw anyway. The bowler to follow is Kagiso Rabada: he has 52 Test wickets at Newlands and has taken at least three in five of his past six innings there, and he was $3.15, joint favourite with Marco Jansen, for top South Africa first-innings bowler (Ladbrokes, 26 October). Check the teams at the toss before betting, and compare prices at our best cricket betting sites.

Third Test report: South Africa win by 176 runs

Australia had the better of the first three days. Mitchell Starc took 6 for 72 as South Africa were bowled out for 329, and a century from Josh Inglis (102) and 80 from Alex Carey took Australia to 429 and a first-innings lead of 100.

South Africa turned it around in their second innings. Wiaan Mulder (115) and Ryan Rickelton (101) put on 154 for the sixth wicket, South Africa made 387 and Australia were set 288 to win. Kagiso Rabada took two wickets in the first over of the chase, and off-spinner Simon Harmer took 6 for 16 on the final day as Australia were bowled out for 111. Harmer was player of the match, South Africa won the series 2-1 and moved to the top of the ICC Test rankings.

How our lean went: we leaned South Africa, with draw no bet at $1.75 as the safer way in, and both landed. For the series as a whole, the warning at the top of this page held: South Africa won the ODIs 2-1 and the Tests 2-1.

Next for Australia: the home summer, starting with three ODIs against England from Friday 13 November and then four Tests against New Zealand from Wednesday 9 December at Perth Stadium. Our Australia v New Zealand Test series page has the schedule.

What makes South Africa a hard tour

This is the toughest away Test assignment in world cricket outside India, and the three venues could hardly be more different.

Kingsmead, Durban is coastal and humid, and it swings. Overhead conditions can dominate a session and first-innings collapses are common. St George’s Park, Gqeberha is the slowest and lowest of the three and the one ground where spin genuinely comes into play. Newlands, Cape Town is the most seam-friendly, and its pitches have produced some remarkably short Tests in recent years.

The Wanderers, hosting the second ODI, sits at altitude in Johannesburg, the ball flies and it is the most batting-friendly white-ball venue on the tour.

Team news

Pat Cummins is Australia’s nominal ODI captain, but the role is a job-share with Mitch Marsh and Cummins, who landed in Durban less than 72 hours before the series, is not expected to play the first ODI. Marsh leads the side at Kingsmead, with Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood in the attack. Temba Bavuma leads South Africa. Australia come straight from Zimbabwe, where they won the ODI series 3-0 but needed the last ball and the last wicket to complete it, Josh Inglis making 103 in the decider.

Josh Inglis is out of the last two ODIs with a fractured right index finger, suffered in the field in Durban, and has been ruled out of the first Test. His availability for the second in Gqeberha depends on how the finger recovers. Alex Carey came back in to keep wicket at the Wanderers.

Australia’s Test squad was named on 7 September: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cooper Connolly, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc and Beau Webster. Connolly, Kuhnemann and Neser are the additions for South African conditions, Labuschagne keeps his place at No. 3, and Todd Murphy misses out. Inglis is now out of the opener, and on 1 October the squad added Sam Harper, who made 128 for Australia A against India A, as wicketkeeping cover and Nic Maddinson, back in the squad ten years after his last Test in 2016. Cameron Green has since been ruled out of the first Test with the lower abdominal strain from the third ODI, and coach Andrew McDonald says it is highly unlikely he bowls in the series even if he returns as a batter for the last two Tests. Cooper Connolly and Nic Maddinson are the options to fill the gap at No. 5, which also makes Beau Webster more likely as the fourth seamer.

South Africa have lost two seamers from their ODI squad to hamstring injuries: Ottneil Baartman, replaced by Duan Jansen, and Lungi Ngidi, ruled out on 18 September and replaced by Nqobani Mokoena. Losing Ngidi in particular thins a home attack that would otherwise be the main argument for South Africa in the white-ball leg. It is worth checking the final XIs before each match, because the venues on this tour reward very different attacks.

Betting angles

Do not price this like a home series. Australia are formidable at home, but their away record in South Africa is a different question entirely. Series markets here are far closer than an Australian punter’s instinct suggests.

Venue-specific totals are the edge. With three grounds this distinct, blanket total-runs assumptions are the fastest way to lose money. Newlands and Durban favour bowlers; Gqeberha rewards patience; the Wanderers rewards batters.

Short-Test risk is real. Newlands in particular has produced Tests that finished inside three days. That matters for any market priced on the match going the distance.

WTC context shapes intent. Because these Tests carry World Test Championship points, neither side will be playing for a draw, which pushes toward results rather than stalemates. Compare markets at our best cricket betting sites.

How to watch in Australia

Every match on the tour was live on Kayo and Fox Cricket, with radio coverage on ABC and SEN. South Africa is nine hours behind AEDT, so the 10:30am local start at Newlands was 7:30pm AEDT (6:30pm in Queensland, which stays on AEST), and play ran through the Australian evening and into the early hours. Session times for the third Test are below.

Session	Local (SAST)	AEDT
Session 1	10:30am to 12:30pm	7:30pm to 9:30pm
Session 2	1:10pm to 3:10pm	10:10pm to 12:10am
Session 3	3:30pm to 5:30pm	12:30am to 2:30am

Australia v South Africa FAQs

When did Australia tour South Africa in 2026?

Australia played three ODIs from 24 to 30 September 2026, then three Tests from 9 to 31 October 2026. South Africa won both series 2-1.

Where are the Tests played?

Kingsmead in Durban (9 to 13 October), St George’s Park in Gqeberha (18 to 22 October) and Newlands in Cape Town (27 to 31 October).

Do these Tests count for the World Test Championship?

Yes. The three-Test series forms part of the ICC World Test Championship cycle, so both sides are playing for points as well as the series.

What time is the cricket in Australia?

The first Test started at 9:30am local time (6:30pm AEDT) and the second at 10am local (7pm AEDT). The third Test at Newlands started at 10:30am local, which is 7:30pm AEDT (6:30pm in Queensland), so play ran through the Australian evening and into the early hours.

Who won the second Test between South Africa and Australia?

South Africa won by an innings and 31 runs at St George’s Park on 22 October. Temba Bavuma made 179, Marco Jansen took 5 for 33 as Australia were bowled out for 99, and Travis Head’s 121 in the follow-on could not save the match. It levelled the series at 1-1 before the decider.

Who won the Test series between South Africa and Australia?

South Africa, 2-1. Australia won the first Test in Durban by 214 runs, South Africa won the second in Gqeberha by an innings and 31 runs, and South Africa won the decider at Newlands by 176 runs on Saturday 31 October, Simon Harmer taking 6 for 16 as Australia were bowled out for 111 chasing 288.

Where can I watch Australia v South Africa in Australia?

Every match on the tour was live on Kayo and Fox Cricket, with radio coverage on ABC and SEN.

Who is out of Australia’s squad for the first Test?

Cameron Green is out with a lower abdominal strain, and wicketkeeper Josh Inglis is out with a fractured finger and is due to rejoin the squad for the second Test.

Did Kagiso Rabada play in the first Test?

No. He was named in South Africa’s preliminary squad but was doubtful with a hamstring injury, and South Africa played without him.

Are Australia favourites in South Africa?

Less clearly than at home. South Africa are formidable in their own conditions and the three venues suit different skills, so series markets are closer than many Australian punters expect.

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