South Africa announce 18-member squad for 1st Test vs Australia: Brevis dropped, Rabada back, Maphaka-Ngidi ruled out injured

Cricket South Africa (CSA) on September 28 announced their 15-member preliminary squad for the first Test of the series against Australia which is scheduled to start on October 9 at Kingsmead Stadium, Durban. Kagiso Rabada, who was ruled out of ODI series due to hamstring injury, has been named in the squad while he continues his rehabilitation. The notable exclusion is Dewald Brevis who was in South Africa's squad for Test series against India last year.

3 pacers return

Gerald Coetzee, Anrich Nortje and Dane Paterson have returned to the Test setup as Ottneil Baartman, Kwena Maphaka and Lungi Ngidi were not considered for selection due to their respective hamstring injuries. Rabada's fitness will be assessed in an intra-squad match.

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Coetzee recently returned to ODI setup as well. His previous Test appearance was against Sri Lanka nearly two years ago. Baartman is yet to make his Test debut whereas Nortje returns after not playing a Test for more than three years. His previous Test match was against West Indies in March 2023.

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"Having a larger bowling group gives us the flexibility to cover all bases. We have different options across the squad and the next week will give us an opportunity to determine which combinations are best suited to the conditions," Shukri Conrad, South Africa's head coach said in a statement.

"We also want to give Kagiso every chance of being available for selection for the first Test, and the two-day game will give us a clearer picture of where he is in terms of his match readiness."

Ackerman gets maiden call-up

Marcques Ackerman has received his maiden Test call-up. Ackerman had scored a century and fifty for Dolphins against Western province earlier this month. Also, he had scored 256 for South Africa A against Bangladesh A in the series opener. The 30-year-old has played 85 first-class games and scored 5,986 runs at an average of 48.66. He has 16 centuries and 31 fifties. Also, his strike rate in the format is 81.45.

South Africa’s 18-member preliminary Test squad vs Australia -

Temba Bavuma (c), Marques Ackerman, 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, Kyle Verreynne.

Where are South Africa in WTC standings?

In the ongoing World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27 cycle, defending champions South Africa are placed second in the standings with three wins from four Tests. Their win percentage is 75 which is only behind Australia. The Pat Cummins-led side have eight wins from Tests and a win percentage of 80. They lost a Test each to England and Bangladesh.