Less than a fortnight ago the summer looked lost. A 214-run defeat in Durban, a top order in pieces and a country picking its own XI over the braai. Then came Gqeberha, an innings win built on a captain’s 179 and a pace attack that would not let go. Now it is 1-1, and the Proteas Australia Newlands Test, starting on Tuesday, settles everything. One match. Five days. A series, and a big step on the road to another World Test Championship final.
The team news landed on Saturday, and it cuts both ways. South Africa are without Anrich Nortje. Australia get Cameron Green back. Here is what that means.
| Quick facts | |
|---|---|
| Match | South Africa v Australia, third Test of three |
| Dates | Tuesday 27 to Saturday 31 October 2026 |
| Venue | Newlands, Cape Town |
| First ball | 10:30 SAST |
| Sessions | 10:30 to 12:30, 13:10 to 15:10 and 15:30 to 17:30 SAST |
| Series | 1-1 (Australia won by 214 runs in Durban, South Africa by an innings and 31 runs in Gqeberha) |
| Captains | Temba Bavuma (South Africa), Pat Cummins (Australia) |
| TV in South Africa | SuperSport |
Proteas Australia Newlands Test: what is riding on it
The simple part first. Win, and South Africa take the series. Lose, and it goes to Australia. A draw shares it 1-1.
The bigger part sits in the World Test Championship table. After Gqeberha, South Africa are third on 66.67% of available points, behind New Zealand, with Australia top on 75.00%, according to the ICC. The ICC also notes that the winner in Cape Town will be in a position to claim a place in next year’s final. How those percentages move with every result is set out in our explainer on World Test Championship points.
There is history in that, too. South Africa beat Australia by five wickets in the last final, at Lord’s in June 2025. A decider against the same side, with the next final in view, is about as big as a home Test gets.
Nortje out, and no replacement named
Cricket South Africa named a 16-player squad on Saturday. Nortje is not in it: he has been ruled out with a mild groin injury, SA Cricket Mag and TimesLIVE reported, and no replacement was called up. He left the field midway through his fourth over of Australia’s first innings in Gqeberha, TimesLIVE noted.
The rest of the group is unchanged: Temba Bavuma (captain), Marques Ackerman, David Bedingham, Corbin Bosch, Matthew Breetzke, Gerald Coetzee, Simon Harmer, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Senuran Muthusamy, Dane Paterson, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton and Kyle Verreynne. Our Proteas Test team page has the background on the group.
So who takes the third seamer’s spot? TimesLIVE names three options already in the squad: Paterson, Bosch and Coetzee. Cricket Australia’s preview casts them neatly. Paterson is the control bowler, Coetzee the closest like-for-like for Nortje’s pace, and Bosch the all-rounder who adds batting. That preview projects Paterson to play. It is a guess, not a team sheet.
What is not in doubt is the spine of the attack. Jansen took 5 for 33 as Australia were bowled out for 99 in Gqeberha, and Kagiso Rabada, back from a long injury layoff, took 4 for 77 in the follow-on. Mulder’s 3 for 64 finished the job, the ICC reported. Why three seamers sharing the wickets matters so much in Cape Town is the subject of our Beyond the Score on the Gqeberha win.
And spin? Maharaj sat out Gqeberha. TimesLIVE thinks a twin-spin attack is unlikely, recalling that Maharaj and Harmer took only four wickets between them in Durban.
Australia: Green is back, and someone has to make way
Australia have made no changes to their 18-player squad and are working with the players already in South Africa, Cricket Australia reports. The big news is Green. He has recovered from the abdominal injury he suffered in the third ODI in Potchefstroom and is available, but as a batter only: he will not bowl. Josh Inglis is fit again after a broken finger.
Green sounds ready. “I think I’m well suited at four and five,” he said, as reported by cricket.com.au, which watched him take on Nathan Lyon in the Newlands nets on Saturday. Fitting him in is the problem. Matt Renshaw has a strong claim to No 5 after his Durban runs, and Beau Webster’s place at No 7 is under review, Cricket Australia reports.
Cummins kept his cards close after Gqeberha. He said he would wait until the squad reached Cape Town to decide, and framed the choice plainly: “do you give someone one more game? Or do you feel like now is the right time to make a move?”, according to the ICC.
Two names keep coming up. Marnus Labuschagne made 14 and 39 in Gqeberha. Cummins insisted it was “certainly not a technique error”, but added that “30s aren’t going to win you too many matches”, the ICC reported. The Guardian expects Nic Maddinson, who made a duck and eight against Rabada, to be the one who drops out, with Labuschagne possibly moving up to open alongside Travis Head.
Then there is the bowling puzzle. Scott Boland bowled and batted well in Gqeberha, where his 40 from 166 balls held South Africa up for a long time. Cricket Australia describes Cummins’s challenge as fitting “five match-winners into four slots”, and its projected XI leaves out Lyon.
Newlands: a fast bowlers’ ground with a long memory
If St George’s Park was the question mark, Newlands is closer to an answer. Since 2020, quick bowlers have taken 84 wickets in three Tests at the ground, against nine for the spinners, according to Cricket Australia. As our second Test preview explained, Gqeberha came with spin-friendly history and an unknown October surface. Cape Town has no such mystery. The numbers favour pace.
The head to head is more complicated. Australia have won 10 of their 14 Tests at Newlands, but South Africa have won three of the last four there, Cricket Australia notes:
| Year | Result at Newlands |
|---|---|
| 2018 | South Africa won by 322 runs |
| 2014 | Australia won by 245 runs |
| 2011 | South Africa won by eight wickets |
| 2009 | South Africa won by an innings and 20 runs |
The sky should not interfere. TimesLIVE reports that no rain is forecast for the match, which should mean five full days for someone to win it.
What to watch on Tuesday
- The third seamer. Paterson’s control, Coetzee’s pace or Bosch’s batting tells you how South Africa read the pitch.
- Where Green bats. And who makes way for him.
- The first hour. Mitchell Starc, Cummins and Josh Hazlewood with a new ball against South Africa’s top order is where this series can be won or lost.
- Jansen and Rabada together. With Mulder, they did most of the damage in Gqeberha. Newlands’ record says pace will get help.
Our view: losing Nortje hurts, but less than it would have a fortnight ago. Gqeberha showed this attack can bowl Australia out in a long follow-on with Nortje off the field, and Newlands’ record suggests it should suit them even better. Australia have more selection questions than answers. If South Africa bat time in the first innings, the series is theirs to win.
From 10:30 on Tuesday, one Test decides it all.
Frequently asked questions
When does the third Test between South Africa and Australia start?
The third Test starts on Tuesday 27 October 2026 at Newlands in Cape Town, with the first ball at 10:30 SAST. It is scheduled to run until Saturday 31 October, with three two-hour sessions a day.
Why is Anrich Nortje not playing in the third Test?
Nortje has been ruled out with a mild groin injury, and no replacement was named in the 16-player squad announced on Saturday 24 October. He had left the field during Australia’s first innings in the second Test in Gqeberha.
What happens if the Newlands Test is a draw?
The series would finish 1-1 and be shared. Australia won the first Test in Durban by 214 runs, and South Africa won the second in Gqeberha by an innings and 31 runs.
Where can I watch Proteas vs Australia in South Africa?
SuperSport is showing the series in South Africa. Play starts at 10:30 SAST each day in Cape Town.
How does the third Test affect the World Test Championship?
After the second Test, South Africa were third on 66.67% of available points and Australia top on 75.00%, according to the ICC. The ICC says the winner of the series decider will be in a position to claim a place in next year’s final.