SA vs Aus 2026 - Australia bat, bring in Maddinson after a decade

Australia won the toss and elected to bat vs South Africa

Nic Maddinson‘s stunning return to Test cricket is complete after he was named to open the batting against South Africa in the series opener in Durban.

Maddinson, 34, will get his chance at the crease immediately after Australia captain Pat Cummins had no hesitation to bat in sunny conditions with the Kingsmead surface expected to offer turn as the match progresses.

He will partner Travis Head, who remains at the top of the order with Matt Renshaw named at No.5 while allrounder Beau Webster is listed at 7.

Maddinson, who underwent treatment for testicular cancer last year, was called into the squad despite not playing first-class cricket since March 2025. He played all three of his previous Tests in late 2016.

Left-arm spinning allrounder Cooper Connolly missed out after leaving Australia’s final training session before the Test having reported symptoms of a head cold.

Allrounder Cameron Green was ruled out a few days before the match with an abdominal strain sustained in the ODI series. He has remained in South Africa in the hope of being available for the subsequent Tests.

The much-anticipated series is the first in Test cricket between the countries in South Africa since 2018 when the Sandpaper scandal rocked Australian cricket.

South Africa have won 13 of their previous 14 Tests, including memorably beating Australia at Lord’s to win the World Test Championship final, but last played the format in November 2025.

Skipper Temba Bavuma confirmed his XI a day out from the match with South Africa deploying a new-look attack. Without injured quicks Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi, speedster Anrich Nortje returns to Test cricket after three-and-a-half years while spinner Simon Harmer will support frontliner Keshav Maharaj.

David Bedingham will slot in at No. 3, a position he has never previously filled in Test cricket having mostly batted at Nos. 4-6 across his previous 26 innings.

Australia enjoy a strong record in Kingsmead having won their last three Tests at the venue. Before the disastrous 2018 tour, they had not lost a Test series in the country since South Africa’s readmission to international cricket in the early 1990s.

Australia: 1 Travis Head, 2 Nic Maddinson, 3 Marnus Labuschagne, 4 Steven Smith, 5 Matt Renshaw, 6 Alex Carey (wk), 7 Beau Webster, 8 Pat Cummins (capt), 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Nathan Lyon, 11 Josh Hazlewood

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

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