Australia are heading to South Africa for a six-match tour running from Thursday, September 24 through Tuesday, October 27, 2026, three ODIs, then a three-Test series that counts toward the ICC World Test Championship 2025–2029 cycle.
It’s Australia’s first red-ball trip to South Africa since 2018, and it reunites the last two WTC finalists, with the Proteas defending their 2025 title on home turf. Here’s the full fixture list, probable squads, venues, and everything else you need going into it.
Australia Tour of South Africa 2026: Full Schedule and Fixtures
The tour opens with the white-ball leg before shifting to the traditional five-day format. All times below are local South African time (SAST), which is also GMT+2.
| Match | Date | Venue | City | Local Time | GMT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st ODI | Thu, Sep 24, 2026 | Kingsmead | Durban | 10:00 AM | 8:00 AM |
| 2nd ODI | Sun, Sep 27, 2026 | The Wanderers Stadium | Johannesburg | 10:00 AM | 8:00 AM |
| 3rd ODI | Wed, Sep 30, 2026 | Senwes Park | Potchefstroom | 1:30 PM | 11:30 AM |
| 1st Test | Fri–Tue, Oct 9–13, 2026 | Kingsmead | Durban | 9:30 AM | 7:30 AM |
| 2nd Test | Sun–Thu, Oct 18–22, 2026 | St George’s Park | Gqeberha | 10:00 AM | 8:00 AM |
| 3rd Test | Tue–Sat, Oct 27–31, 2026 | Newlands | Cape Town | 10:00 AM | 8:00 AM |
The ODI series runs first across nine days, giving both squads a short turnaround before the Test series opens at Kingsmead on October 9 and closes at Newlands on October 31 — a venue with its own rich history against these two sides.
The Test Series and the ICC World Test Championship 2025–29
This isn’t just another bilateral series, every session feeds into the WTC 2025–27 table. And there’s history here: South Africa and Australia were the two finalists last cycle, with the Proteas beating the Aussies to win their first-ever ICC senior men’s title.
So Australia arrive with a score to settle, and they’re doing it on pitches that traditionally reward pace and bounce. That combination has produced some of the most competitive Test cricket these two nations have played against each other.
South Africa vs Australia Head-to-Head Record
Few rivalries in world cricket are as evenly matched across formats. Australia hold a clear historical edge in Tests, while South Africa have the narrow advantage in ODIs, a gap that has widened in South Africa’s favour over the past few years, including a run of series wins in the 50-over format.
| Format | Matches Played | South Africa Won | Australia Won | Drawn/Tied/NR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test | ~101 | 26 | 54 | ~21 drawn |
| ODI | 113 | 57 | 52 | 3 tied, 1 no result |
| T20I | ~28 | 9 | 19 | — |
That ODI edge is fairly recent, South Africa have strung together several series wins against Australia in the format over the last few years, which is unusual given Australia’s near-total dominance over almost everyone else in white-ball cricket. Tests are a different story. That gap goes back over a century, all the way to a series played in South Africa in 1902.
Why This Series Matters: Australia’s Return to Red-Ball Cricket in South Africa
Australia haven’t played a Test series in South Africa since 2018. That’s the tour most fans remember for the wrong reasons, the Newlands ball-tampering incident involving Cameron Bancroft, which cost Steve Smith and David Warner their captaincy and reshaped Australian cricket’s leadership for years.
Since then, the two teams have only crossed paths in South Africa through white-ball cricket, in 2020 and 2023. A three-Test tour that was meant to happen in 2021 got scrapped because of COVID. So this October is Australia’s first red-ball series on South African soil in nearly eight years.
For South African fans who’ve watched their team climb to the top of the WTC table, having Australia back for a proper Test series feels like unfinished business.
South Africa Squad for the Australia Series 2026 (Probable)
Official squads had not yet been confirmed by Cricket South Africa at the time of writing. Based on current national team selections and recent Test and ODI line-ups, the probable squad shapes up as follows. This section will be updated once CSA makes the formal announcement.
| Player | Primary Role |
|---|---|
| Temba Bavuma (c) | Batter |
| Aiden Markram | Batter |
| Tony de Zorzi | Batter |
| Ryan Rickelton (wk) | Wicketkeeper-Batter |
| Tristan Stubbs (wk) | Wicketkeeper-Batter |
| David Bedingham (wk) | Wicketkeeper-Batter |
| Dewald Brevis | Batter |
| Wiaan Mulder | All-rounder |
| Corbin Bosch | All-rounder |
| Marco Jansen | All-rounder |
| Senuran Muthusamy | All-rounder |
| Keshav Maharaj | Spinner |
| Kagiso Rabada | Fast bowler |
| Lungi Ngidi | Fast bowler |
| Nandre Burger | Fast bowler |
Australia Squad for the South Africa Tour 2026 (Probable)
Cricket Australia is expected to lean on its core WTC-winning nucleus for the Test leg, with some rotation likely for the ODIs given the packed international calendar. As with the South African squad, this list reflects reported/expected selections rather than an official touring party.
| Player | Primary Role |
|---|---|
| Pat Cummins (c) | Fast bowler |
| Steven Smith | Batter |
| Travis Head | Batter |
| Usman Khawaja | Batter |
| Marnus Labuschagne | Batter |
| Cameron Green | All-rounder |
| Beau Webster | All-rounder |
| Alex Carey (wk) | Wicketkeeper-Batter |
| Josh Inglis (wk) | Wicketkeeper-Batter |
| Mitchell Starc | Fast bowler |
| Josh Hazlewood | Fast bowler |
| Scott Boland | Fast bowler |
| Nathan Lyon | Spinner |
| Matthew Kuhnemann | Spinner |
Player Spotlight: The Faces of the Australia vs South Africa 2026 Series
Meet the key players from Australia and South Africa who could make a big impact in the 2026 series.
1. Temba Bavuma — South Africa’s Test and ODI Captain
Bavuma took over as Test captain in February 2023, becoming the first black African to hold the role, and he’s since lifted the WTC mace.
Now he gets to defend that title on home soil. It’s hard to think of a bigger stage for a South African captain right now.
2. Pat Cummins — Australia’s Captain and Talisman
Cummins has beaten these same Proteas in one WTC final and lost to them in the next.
As Australia’s captain and lead fast bowler, how he manages his own workload, and how he attacks with the new ball, will likely decide how competitive Australia are on quick South African pitches.
3. Kagiso Rabada — South Africa’s Spearhead
Rabada is the bowler this series probably hinges on for South Africa.
Home conditions suit his pace and bounce, and he’s historically had one of the best strike rates of any quick in this fixture. Fit and firing, he’s usually the difference-maker in Proteas home Tests.
4. Travis Head — Australia’s Aggressor at the Top
Head has a habit of blowing games open fast, including in big WTC moments against South Africa.
If Newlands or Kingsmead offer any early movement, he’s the batter most likely to change the mood of a session single-handedly — for better or worse, depending which side you support.
Venues Guide: Where South Africa vs Australia 2026 Will Be Played
| Venue | City | Format Hosted | Notable For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kingsmead | Durban | 1st ODI, 1st Test | Historic coastal ground, often assists seam bowling early on |
| The Wanderers Stadium | Johannesburg | 2nd ODI | Known as the “Bullring,” high altitude, fast outfield |
| Senwes Park | Potchefstroom | 3rd ODI | Traditionally batting-friendly, high-scoring ODI venue |
| St George’s Park | Gqeberha | 2nd Test | South Africa’s oldest Test ground, hosted the country’s first-ever Test in 1889 |
| Newlands | Cape Town | 3rd Test | Iconic Table Mountain backdrop, site of the 2018 ball-tampering controversy |
How to Follow the Australia Tour of South Africa 2026
Broadcast details haven’t been confirmed yet, expect CSA and Cricket Australia to announce their official partners closer to the tour. Tickets usually go on sale about a month out, through CSA’s official channels. We’ll keep this page updated with live-score links, confirmed squads, and broadcast info as it comes in.
Conclusion
Six matches, five cities, and two teams with real history, that’s the Australia tour of South Africa 2026 in a nutshell, running September 24 through October 31 across Durban, Johannesburg, Potchefstroom, Gqeberha, and Cape Town.
With the Proteas defending a WTC title and Australia back for their first Test tour since 2018, this is bigger than the usual bilateral series. Check back here as squads, tosses, and scores roll in.
FAQs
The tour begins with the 1st ODI at Kingsmead, Durban, on Thursday, September 24, 2026, and concludes with the 3rd Test at Newlands, Cape Town, on Tuesday, October 27–31, 2026.
Six matches in total: three ODIs (September 24–30) and three Tests (October 9–31).
Yes. The three-Test series forms part of the ICC World Test Championship 2025–2029 cycle, with South Africa defending the title they won against Australia in the previous cycle.
The 1st Test is at Kingsmead, Durban, starting October 9, 2026.
Temba Bavuma captains South Africa across both formats, while Pat Cummins leads Australia.
Australia’s last Test tour of South Africa was in 2018, the series remembered for the Newlands ball-tampering incident. Their only visits since have been white-ball tours in 2020 and 2023.
