Every Proteas fan has had the same thought since Tuesday at Kingsmead: what would that have looked like with KG? Australia won the first Test by 214 runs while South Africa’s leading fast bowler sat it out as a precaution. Now the Kagiso Rabada second Test question is the one hanging over Gqeberha. The ICC reports he is in line to return at St George’s Park from Sunday, and his captain sounds sure. Cricket South Africa has not named the XI yet. Until it does, he is in contention, and he is the man to watch.
Who he is
Rabada is 31, born on 25 May 1995 according to Cricket Australia’s player record, a right-arm fast bowler who bats left-handed. His ScoreLine page has the full story of a career that has carried the Test attack for years.
This week, the recent chapter is the one that counts. He hurt his right hamstring during winter training, and in August Cricket South Africa said he was in the early stages of rehabilitation. That ruled him out of the three one-day internationals against Australia in September and left his Test place hanging on his recovery. His last competitive match was for Gujarat Titans in the IPL in May, the ICC notes. That is five months without a game.
Why now: the Kagiso Rabada second Test call
Look at how Durban went. South Africa played without Rabada and Lungi Ngidi, and the ICC’s preview of Gqeberha shows what that cost. Australia were 230 for eight in their first innings and still reached 390, because Matt Renshaw made 190 and nobody could finish the job. Then Josh Hazlewood ran through the second innings, and the gap became 214 runs. Our Kingsmead result report has the detail.
Rabada would not have changed that result on his own. But an attack with a door open at 230 for eight needs a bowler who shuts it, and that has been his job for most of his career.
The signals are good. Temba Bavuma said “KG looks good” and described him as bubbly as ever around the team, the ICC reports, adding that keeping him out of Durban was mostly about caution. He was bowling on the outfield during breaks in play. Shukri Conrad, who wants a much sharper side in Gqeberha, as we covered in this morning’s Fluit’s Five, calls him the team’s “Rolls-Royce” and hopes he is ready. None of that is a team sheet.
Strengths and style
The case for Rabada is simple: pace, bounce and a habit of taking wickets in clusters. He attacks the stumps and the edge, and when a partnership needs breaking he is usually the one the captain throws the ball to.
Against this opponent, the record backs it up. In the 2018 home series against Australia he took 23 wickets at 19.26, AAP recalls, and South Africa won it 3-1. The Test that turned that series was in Port Elizabeth, now Gqeberha, at St George’s Park. Australia had won the first Test. Rabada took 11 wickets in the match, including 6 for 54 in the second innings, and South Africa chased 101 to win by six wickets. He was named man of the match.
That is the ground he is trying to get back to this weekend. Few fast bowlers get to return from injury at a venue where they once turned a series against the same opponent. It is worth remembering what he did there before anyone decides what he can do now. Our Beyond the Score on the top order explains why the bowlers may need to carry more of the load again.
What to watch next
The second Test starts on Sunday 18 October at St George’s Park. Three things to look for. First, whether his name is on the team sheet at the toss, because until Cricket South Africa confirms it, nothing is settled. Second, his first spell with the new ball, which will tell you more about the hamstring than any press conference. Third, how many overs he bowls across the first two days after five months away.
The workload matters because the third Test at Newlands starts on 27 October. Australia lead 1-0. A draw in Gqeberha would mean South Africa can no longer win the series, only level it. So this is not a Test to ease into.
If he is ruled out, the attack will have to find another way, and we will be watching that too.
Five months out, one Test down, and a ground where he once took 11 Australian wickets. If Rabada is cleared, Sunday is not just a comeback. It could decide the series.