Star South African fast bowler Kagiso Rabada will miss the first Test against Australia starting at Kingsmead on Friday — but Anrich Nortje will return for his first Test appearance since 2023.
Rabada, who took nine wickets in the match when South Africa beat the same opponents in the World Test Championship final at Lord’s last year, would be given more time to recover from a hamstring injury, according to South African captain Temba Bavuma. But Bavuma was excited by the return of Nortje, who he said was an “X-Factor” player. “There are not many guys around bowling at 150kmh plus,” Bavuma said at his pre-match press conference.
He played in the European T20 Premier League in the Netherlands and Ireland last month and impressed Bavuma with the pace he achieved in South Africa’s week-long preparation for the Test.
Australian captain Pat Cummins said that the tourists would wait until Friday morning before finalising their team While Bavuma announced South Africa’s 11. It is the start of a heavy 12-month schedule of Tests for his team, during which time they will also tour India and England.
Cummins said he was “super-excited” about a series between what he described as the “number one and two teams in the world”. “They definitely could both play,” said Cummins. “Kuhnny brings something a little bit different, spinning the ball away from the right-handers. If we need both spinners he’s done it well for us in the past. South Africa: Temba Bavuma (captain), Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, David Bedingham, Tristan Stubbs, Wiaan Mulder, Kyle Verreynne (wkt), Marco Jansen, Simon Harmer, Keshav Maharaj, Anrich Nortje.
