GQEBERHA: South Africa and Australia have not yet confirmed their playing XI for the second Test which starts in Gqeberha on Sunday as both the sides assess the likely impact of the weather on the game.
The home side were beaten by 214 runs in the first Test of the three-match series in Durban and need to improve with both bat and ball as they seek to put pressure on the tourists.
Captain Temba Bavuma confirmed on Saturday that the team were still mulling over several options for their playing personnel.
“We would like to see what happens tomorrow,” he told reporters. Whether we go with two spinners is probably one of the biggest considerations,” Bavuma told reporters.
“Whether we go with one spinner, whether we play an all-rounder and which all-rounder that is, it all comes down to the balance of the team. Those are the dynamics we have to consider,” the captain stated.
RABADA RETURNS
One thing that looks certain is a return to the team for veteran fast bowler Kagiso Rabada, who has been cleared to play after missing the first Test with a hamstring injury.
“He [Rabada] has been released by the fitness team and is available for selection. He will obviously be a big addition and a boost to the team on the field. He is raring to go,” Bavuma said.
“The bowlers feed massively off him. He leads the attack in everything that he does and brings an extra level of confidence to the unit. Whether he is on the field or off the field, there is always a benefit.
“Any captain would be happy to have a guy like KG in his bowling attack, so that brings a big smile to my face.”
Rabada has taken 58 wickets at an average of 21.39 in 11 Tests against Australia, including nine wickets when South Africa won the World Test Championship final at Lord’s last year and 11 in the corresponding match in 2017-18 when South Africa bounced back after losing the first Test in Durban.
Bavuma said his side needed to improve with the bat to challenge Australia.
“We need to be much more ruthless in how we execute and, more importantly, when the opportunity is there, we need to go on and do something big for the team,” he said.
“We can take the little good moments that we had with the bat [in the first Test] and build on those.”
Bavuma indicated that batsmen Matthew Breetzke and the uncapped Marques Ackerman would both play in a re-jigged batting line-up as South Africa seek to bat for longer periods after a poor batting performance in Durban.
“The first innings [in Durban] was where we fell short,” he said. “To concede a lead like that on a wicket like that was rather criminal.”
On the other hand, Australia are also assessing all selection options ahead of the second Test as the tourists look to claim the series.
All-rounder Cameron Green will miss out again with an abdominal strain but wicket-keeper/batter Josh Inglis could win his race to recover from a finger injury.
Whether he would start if fit remains to be seen, as Australia also ponder an all-seam bowling attack that would leave out experienced spinner Nathan Lyon.
With bad weather expected on the first two days there is a chance that the game could be shortened, or that conditions would be heavily weighted in favour of seamers.
“We always look at all options,” Australian captain Pat Cummins told reporters on Saturday. “We love playing with Nath. We saw last week, [he took] a couple of key wickets in the first innings. And even the control he gives. It makes the rest of us fast bowlers be able to function around him.”
He suggested that Matt Renshaw, who scored 190 and 82 in Durban, would remain as a middle-order batter, rather than an option to open the innings as he has done before.
Published in Dawn, October 18th, 2026
