South Africa name first Test XI, gun quick unavailable

South African spearhead Kagiso Rabada has been ruled out of the opening Test of the series against Australia after Temba Bavuma confirmed his side's playing XI on Thursday. 

Rabada hurt his right hamstring in winter training and has not played a match since the Indian Premier League in May. 

However, the right-arm quick went through his paces at training, bowling to an empty net at a notch below full tilt.

South Africa XI: Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, David Bedingham, Temba Bavuma (c), Tristan Stubbs, Wiaan Mulder, Kyle Verreynne (wk), Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Simon Harmer, Anrich Nortje

Bavuma revealed the Proteas team on the eve of the match, with speedster Anrich Nortje to partner Marco Jansen with the new ball. Unsurprisingly, the hosts have picked two spinners, Keshav Maharaj and Simon Harmer, while allrounder Wiaan Mulder will be the side's third seamer.

South Africa are hopeful Rabada will be able to play a part in the second Test in Gqeberha, with the Proteas skipper saying his star fast bowler was close to being available. 

"It was not an easy one," Bavuma told reporters.

"I think we did go the conservative route to give him a couple of extra days to get as close as he can be to 100 per cent fitness.

"As soon as he gets the green light, we expect him to to be within that starting lineup."

Nortje hasn't played a Test since March 2023 after a series of back and hip injuries. That Test against West Indies was also his most recent first-class match.

The 32-year-old is fresh off a stint with the Rotterdam Dockers in the inaugural European T20 League and has been thundering in at the nets during the lead-in days. With Rabada's absence, his extra pace got him the nod over fellow pace bowlers Dane Paterson and Gerald Coetzee.

"It's hard to ignore his X-factor," Bavuma said of Nortje.

"There's not many guys around who are bowling 150(kph) plus, and I think as a batter, that's not something that I would look forward to.

"As much as he doesn't have the weight of overs under his belt of bowling with the red ball, he has been doing work with the bowling coaches. He's been very impressive in the nets. So, it was a calculated call to give Anrich a go." 

Mulder was selected ahead of Corbin Bosch, another seam-bowling allrounder, due to his batting ability. Mulder hit an unbeaten 367 against Zimbabwe last year and has had a stint as South Africa's No.3. For now that position has gone to David Bedingham, who hasn't batted at first drop in his 26 Test innings to date. 

Nine of the players of won the World Test Championship final against the Aussies in June last year have been selected again. In fact, the top nine players are the same (albeit in a slightly different batting order), with Rabada and Lungi Ngidi (hamstring) the two players absent. 

Qantas tour of South Africa 2026

All matches to be broadcast exclusively in Australia on Kayo and Fox Cricket

First Test: October 9-13, Kingsmead Stadium, Durban, 6:30pm AEDT (9:30am local)

Second Test: October 18-22, St George's Park, Gqeberha, 7pm AEDT (10am local)

Third Test: October 27-31, Newlands, Cape Town, 7:30pm AEDT (10:30am local)

South Africa's first Test preliminary squad: 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

Australia Test squad: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cooper Connolly, Cameron Green, Sam Harper, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis (second Test onwards), Matthew Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Nic Maddinson, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster