Australia vs South Africa 2026 Live on Smartcric

Australia are back in South Africa for the first time since the infamous 2018 tour, playing three ODIs followed by a three-Test series between 24 September and 31 October 2026. The Test series carries extra weight: South Africa are the reigning World Test Championship holders, having beaten Australia in the 2025 final at Lord’s. This series opens the new 2025–27 WTC cycle between the same two sides.

Australia vs South Africa 2026

Both squads suffered injuries in the build-up. For Australia, fast bowler Billy Stanlake has been ruled out of the ODI series with a side strain. Spencer Johnson is also returning home injured, with a replacement bowler named Edwards called into the squad.

For South Africa, Lungi Ngidi is out of the ODI series with a hamstring injury, replaced by Nqobani Mokoena. Whereas Ottneil Baartman was later also ruled out, with Duan Jansen brought in as his replacement. As a result, South Africa have now lost both Kagiso Rabada and Baartman from their originally intended pace attack for the white-ball leg.

On the Test side, Australia’s chair of selectors, George Bailey, confirms to retain Marnus Labuschagne in the Test squad despite a below-par recent series against Bangladesh. Whereas South Africa has not yet announced its Test squad.

Schedule

All times below are local South African time (SAST).

ODI Series

A warm-up match is scheduled for 3–4 October at JB Marks Oval, Potchefstroom, ahead of the Test series.

Test Series

Venues

The tour spans five cities across South Africa: Durban and Potchefstroom host ODI cricket, Johannesburg hosts one ODI, and the Test series moves through Durban, Gqeberha and Cape Town. St George’s Park in Gqeberha is a notable inclusion — since the COVID pandemic, it’s the only South African venue where more wickets have fallen to spin than to pace, which has already shaped Australia’s squad thinking for that Test.

Squads

Australia ODI squad: Mitchell Marsh (c), Pat Cummins, Xavier Bartlett, Alex Carey, Cooper Connolly, Joel Davies, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson, Oliver Peake, Matthew Renshaw, Billy Stanlake, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa.

(Note: Stanlake and Johnson have since been ruled out due to injury.)

Australia Test squad: 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, Beau Webster.

South Africa ODI squad: Temba Bavuma (c), Corbin Bosch, Matthew Breetzke, Gerald Coetzee, Quinton de Kock, Tony de Zorzi, Bjorn Fortuin, Duan Jansen, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kwena Maphaka, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Nqobani Mokoena, Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs.

South Africa Test squad: TBA.

Players to Watch

Marnus Labuschagne (Australia): Retained in the Test squad despite a difficult recent series against Bangladesh, Labuschagne’s form in South African conditions — where he once scored heavily in the 2023 ODI series — will be closely watched as selectors test their faith.

Matthew Kuhnemann (Australia): Picked as the second spinner ahead of Todd Murphy, Kuhnemann is in strong contention to partner Nathan Lyon at Gqeberha, a venue that has favored spin over pace since the pandemic.

Temba Bavuma (South Africa): Leading South Africa as the reigning WTC-winning captain, Bavuma carries the weight of defending that title’s momentum into a fresh cycle against the side South Africa beat in the final.

Pat Cummins (Australia): One of only five players remaining from Australia’s tumultuous 2018 tour of South Africa, Cummins returns as Test captain for a series with genuine historical resonance.

Recent Matches

Australia currently top the World Test Championship table heading into this series, while South Africa arrive as the tournament’s defending champions after beating Australia by five wickets in the 2025 final at Lord’s — meaning this series is effectively a rematch of the last completed WTC final, even though it doesn’t carry that title directly. In ODIs, South Africa hold recent bragging rights on home soil, having come from 2-0 down to win their last home series against Australia 3-2 in 2023.

Australia recently whitewashed Zimbabwe in the three-match ODI series on home soil. Read more about it here.

Live Coverage & TV Channels

In Australia, Foxtel and Kayo Sports will broadcast the entire tour exclusively, including the Fox Cricket channel, with no free-to-air option confirmed. In South Africa, SuperSport holds broadcast rights for the tour.

Sky Sports Cricket will televise the series in the United Kingdom. Meanwhile, cricket fans in the USA and Canada can enjoy live coverage on Willow TV. In Pakistan, Tapmad secured the digital media rights for the Australia Tour of South Africa 2026.

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