By Kevin Rademeyer, Sports Journalist.
Photo Credit: CSA.
There are still photographs from the last time Australia played a Test in Durban that need no explanation.
Eight years on, the sandpaper scandal has long since been dissected from every possible angle, but when these two teams walk out at Kingsmead on Friday, the past will sit somewhere in the background. The cricket itself matters more.
South Africa are the World Test Championship holders, having beaten Australia at Lord’s only 17 months ago. Now they have a chance to do it again, this time on home soil, in a three Test series that could have a significant bearing on the next WTC final.
For Temba Bavuma’s side, there is also the novelty of simply being back in Test cricket at home. South Africa haven’t played a Test since November last year and haven’t hosted one since January 2025.
“It’s our first time playing Test cricket since we’re the WTC champions here at home,” Bavuma said. “So we’d like to celebrate that moment with our local fans. Hopefully the people in Durban come out in support tomorrow.”
Australia arrive with rather more pressure attached to the next 12 months.
Pat Cummins’ side will travel to India and England after South Africa, before the defence of their ODI World Cup title, with another WTC final potentially waiting at the end of the cycle. They’ve already stumbled once, sharing a home series with Bangladesh after losing the opening Test in Darwin.
That result has reopened familiar questions about Australia’s batting, their age profile and what happens when this remarkably successful group finally begins to break apart.
Mitchell Starc, who was part of the 2018 series, knows the scale of the opportunity. “It’s somewhat unusual that you play the three marquee series away from home in the space of 12 months,” Starc said. “And there’s two where we, as an Australian team, haven’t won in a long time.
“Then you throw in the side of the narrative that we’re obviously an older side and we’ve been together a long time. But if in 12 or 14 months time, we are sat here and we have won three away Test series and a World Cup, it’d be, I guess, the equivalent of Rory McIlroy winning four majors in the same year.”
South Africa have their own problems to solve, but have named their team already, 24 hours prior to the toss.
Kagiso Rabada has been ruled out of the opening Test after the hamstring injury that has kept him out since the IPL. Lungi Ngidi is also unavailable, leaving Marco Jansen to lead a pace attack that will include the returning Anrich Nortje.
Nortje’s Test comeback comes after more than three years away from the format. He hasn’t bowled more than eight overs in a match since April 2023, but his pace during training has been impossible to ignore.
“A guy like Anrich is hard to ignore. He’s X Factor,” Bavuma said. “There’s not many guys around who are bowling 150 plus and as a batter, that’s not something I would look forward to.”
South Africa have also taken a calculated gamble with their balance. Keshav Maharaj and Simon Harmer will both play, giving the attack two specialist spinners alongside Jansen, Nortje and Wiaan Mulder.
The Durban surface may have a say in how quickly that decision is rewarded.
There was a healthy covering of grass earlier in the week, while rain is forecast for the second day. Both teams expect spin to become a factor as the match progresses, although precisely when the Kingsmead pitch begins to turn is less certain.
Maharaj knows the ground better than most. He has taken 21 wickets at an average of 22.66 at Kingsmead, second only to Hugh Tayfield among South African spinners.
Australia, though, have history on their side. They’ve won their last three Tests in Durban, including the opening match of the infamous 2018 series. Overall, they’ve won six of their nine Tests at the venue.
The contrast between then and now is striking. Steven Smith, Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon and Cummins are still around from that Australian side. South Africa’s current group includes Bavuma, Aiden Markram, Maharaj and a very different version of the team that eventually turned that series on its head.
Australia will wait until the toss to name their team. Pat Cummins had his best XI in mind but wanted to give it more time.
Based off the practice game, Beau Webster could bat as high as No. 5 to replace Green with Cooper Connolly sliding in at No. 7 and offering some left-arm orthodox to assist Nathan Lyon as the lone spinner.
It is not inconceivable, but unlikely, that Nic Maddinson comes in to bat at No. 5 with Webster remaining at No. 7.
Australia have an unsettled batting line up, but have the experience and skill within their bowling attack. They are the only attack in Test history to have four bowlers play together with more than 300 wickets each.
For South Africa, only Maharaj has more than 100 wickets. This stat alone should be concerning for the Proteas, however cricket is played on grass, as Australia found out at Lords, last year.
The first Test also carries a particularly interesting subplot at No. 3.
David Bedingham comes in for South Africa after scoring two hundreds for Western Province against the Dolphins earlier this season. At the other end, Marnus Labuschagne arrives under considerably greater scrutiny.
Labuschagne hasn’t scored a Test century since July 2023 and has averaged 24.69 since then. His position became more secure after Cameron Green was ruled out and Labuschagne made a century in the tour match in Potchefstroom, but runs in first class cricket have never been his problem.
Australia need those runs to transfer to the highest level.
Their coach Andrew McDonald remains convinced the batting group is better than the recent narrative suggests. “We’re an incredibly talented batting unit that have put on some significant numbers over a period of time,” McDonald said. “And relative to the rest of the world, they’re still going really well. We’re the No.1 ranked team for a reason.”
Travis Head, meanwhile, sounded less interested in the noise around what might happen to this Australian generation and more aware that opportunities such as this don’t come around indefinitely.
“It’s three pretty good tours and could be the last time you’re doing it in your career,” Head said. “You never know, it could be my last few years. You just try and enjoy it a little more, maybe not knowing where it might end up in four or five years’ time.”
That is the strange position Australia find themselves in. They remain the world’s No.1 ranked Test side and have won 30 of their 47 Tests since 2022, yet there is an unmistakable sense that the clock is ticking.
South Africa have a different problem. They’re the champions, but they arrive cold, and possibly a little underprepared. Most players have only had one or two innings in red ball cricket, over the past few months.
That makes Friday’s opening morning particularly important. The home side has picked a team designed for the conditions, while Australia arrive with an attack that has already shown it can win here and a batting order desperate to answer some uncomfortable questions.
Cummins sees something distinctive whenever the two teams meet. “Each rivalry is a little bit different,” he said. “India, you have a billion fans coming up against you, England, you have the history. South Africa, I think we always play a very similar style of cricket, even the personalities sometimes are quite similar. “So I feel like that’s always made a really good contest.”
Eight years after Durban became the beginning of one of the most turbulent series in modern Test cricket, the opening chapter this time should be judged on the cricket.
There is enough at stake without dragging the past into it.
Teams:
South Africa: 1 Aiden Markram, 2 Ryan Rickelton, 3 David Bedingham, 4 Temba Bavuma (capt), 5 Tristan Stubbs, 6 Wiann Mulder, 7 Kyle Verreynne (wk), 8 Marco Jansen, 9 Simon Harmer, 10 Keshav Maharaj, 11 Anrich Nortje
Australia: (probable) 1 Travis Head, 2 Matt Renshaw, 3 Marnus Labuschagne, 4 Steven Smith, 5 Beau Webster, 6 Alex Carey (wk), 7 Cooper Connolly, 8 Pat Cummins (capt), 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Nathan Lyon, 11 Josh Hazlewood.