Analysis
South Africa won the ODI series against Australia 2-1, but the scoreline is the least useful thing those three matches produced. With the first Test at Kingsmead starting on Friday 9 October, the one-dayers in Durban, Johannesburg and Potchefstroom doubled as an early read on both camps: who controls the middle overs, who is fit, and whose bowlers arrive in rhythm. This is ScoreLine’s view of what carries over into red-ball cricket, and what does not.
| Match | Date | Venue | Result | Standouts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st ODI | 24 Sep | Kingsmead, Durban | SA 297/8 beat Australia 230 by 67 runs | Breetzke 112, Maharaj 4/20 |
| 2nd ODI | 27 Sep | Wanderers, Johannesburg | SA 365/9 beat Australia 333 by 32 runs | Miller 142, Bavuma 103, Edwards 5/67 |
| 3rd ODI | 30 Sep | Potchefstroom | Australia 322/9 beat SA 145/4 (28 overs) by 45 runs (DLS) | Carey 74, Rickelton 71*, Bosch 4/60 |
Beyond the 2-1: what the ODI series actually showed
The pattern of the first two matches was almost identical. Australia’s openers attacked, South Africa’s spinners strangled the middle overs, and the chase fell away. In Durban, Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head put on 90 inside the powerplay, according to The Namibian’s match report. In Johannesburg the opening platform was 130, per cricket.com.au. Both times Australia still lost.
The third match needs context before anyone reads too much into it. SuperSport reported five changes to the South African XI, with captain Temba Bavuma rested and Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj and David Miller also missing. Rain then cut the chase off at 145/4 after 28 overs, well short of the DLS par of 190. Our read: Potchefstroom was a rotated side losing a dead rubber, not a warning about the Test team.
Spin control: the thread that runs back to Kingsmead
The most Test-relevant evidence from the ODI series is how Australia handled spin. At Kingsmead, Keshav Maharaj took 4/20 from 9.2 overs and Bjorn Fortuin 2/34, and Flashscore noted that Australia lost their final nine wickets for 101 runs. At the Wanderers, South Africa bowled 30 overs of finger spin, and Maharaj (2/54), Fortuin (2/70) and Aiden Markram (1/55) again choked the chase, according to cricket.com.au.
Kingsmead is also where the first Test is played. A white ball on a one-day surface is not a red ball on day four, so this is a signal rather than proof. But Maharaj is the one spinner from those ODIs who is in the Test squad, alongside Simon Harmer and Senuran Muthusamy, and he has now had a close look at several Australian batters he will meet again. Coach Shukri Conrad framed the bigger squad around exactly that kind of choice. “Having a larger bowling group gives us the flexibility to cover all bases. We have different options across the squad,” he told TimesLIVE.
The caveat is important. Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne, both in Australia’s Test squad, were not part of this ODI series, so the batters who struggled against spin are not the full Test middle order.
Batting depth: hundreds from different places
South Africa’s runs came from all over the order. In Durban, Matthew Breetzke made 112 from 106 balls and added 107 for the sixth wicket with Jansen, who hit 75 from 59. In Johannesburg, Miller struck a career-best 142 from 93 balls and Temba Bavuma made 103 from 116, his sixth ODI hundred, in a fourth-wicket stand of 156. In Potchefstroom, Ryan Rickelton finished 71 not out from 81 balls.
Here is the catch for the Tests. Breetzke and Miller, the two highest scorers, are not in the preliminary Test squad. The Test top order got thin ODI evidence: Aiden Markram, who captained in Potchefstroom, made 15 there, and Tristan Stubbs 14. Bavuma’s hundred and Rickelton’s unbeaten innings are the genuinely transferable positives, along with Jansen’s lower-order hitting, which gives the Test side real depth.
The injury list is now the real selector
Tony de Zorzi’s left hamstring is the newest problem. He left the field during Australia’s innings in Potchefstroom and TimesLIVE described his availability for Kingsmead as “questionable”. That matters because uncapped left-hander Marques Ackerman, who scored a century for SA A in England and a double hundred against Bangladesh A, is the obvious cover, with David Bedingham and Kyle Verreynne also in the 18.
The pace list is thinner still. Lungi Ngidi, Ottneil Baartman and Kwena Maphaka are all out with hamstring injuries, according to the ICC. Kagiso Rabada is included while he recovers from his own hamstring injury, with Conrad saying “we want to give Kagiso every chance of being available for selection for the first Test.” The ICC notes he will test his fitness in a pre-series intra-squad match. His record explains the patience: 58 wickets in 11 Tests against Australia at 21.39, per the ICC.
Anrich Nortje returns with 70 wickets from 19 Tests, last played in 2023, and Gerald Coetzee is back after two years away. Coetzee’s 2/61 and Corbin Bosch’s 4/60 in Potchefstroom, Bosch’s maiden ODI four-wicket haul according to Sports World News, at least mean two squad seamers have recent overs in their legs.
Which ODI performers made the Test squad
Of South Africa’s ODI contributors, Bavuma, Markram, Rickelton, Maharaj, Jansen, Bosch, Coetzee, Stubbs and de Zorzi are in the 18. Breetzke, Miller, Fortuin, Lizaad Williams (3/54 at the Wanderers, per the ICC) and Quinton de Kock are not.
For Australia, the overlap is mostly with the batting. Alex Carey (74 in Potchefstroom), Matt Renshaw (44, 32 and 30), Head (36, 84 and 24), Cameron Green and Cooper Connolly all feature in the 16-man Test squad listed by IOL. Marsh, who made three successive fifties (60, 84 and 56), is not in it.
Australia’s bowlers: form in the wrong places?
Australia’s best bowling came from players outside the Test squad. Jack Edwards took a maiden ODI five-for (5/67) at the Wanderers, and in Potchefstroom Adam Zampa (2/34) and Xavier Bartlett (2/25) did the damage. None of the three is in that 16.
Of the Test bowlers who played, Josh Hazlewood took 3/70 in Johannesburg, and Pat Cummins returned in Potchefstroom with 0/17 from five overs. Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Starc, Scott Boland and Matthew Kuhnemann, all in the Test group, did not feature in the ODI results we checked. Australia also lost Nathan Ellis to a side injury at the Wanderers, which cricket.com.au called the tourists’ third injury in four games.
Marsh took the positives. “I thought the batting in particular showed some real improvement, especially from a few of our young guys,” he said after the third match. Our view: Australia leave the ODIs with more batting confidence than bowling evidence, and their Test attack is largely untested on this tour.
What it means for the World Test Championship
This is not a warm-up. The ICC confirms the three Tests count towards the 2025-27 cycle, and South Africa go in as the side that won the last final at Lord’s, where Rabada took nine wickets. Our World Test Championship explainer covers how points and percentages work. The schedule is Kingsmead (9 to 13 October), St George’s Park (18 to 22 October) and Newlands (27 to 31 October).
The short version: South Africa’s spin control and fast-bowling fitness will decide more than their ODI hundreds did.
Frequently asked questions
Who won the Proteas v Australia ODI series?
South Africa won 2-1. They took the first ODI at Kingsmead by 67 runs and the second at the Wanderers by 32 runs to seal the series. Australia won the rain-affected third match in Potchefstroom by 45 runs on DLS, after South Africa were 145/4 in 28 overs against a par score of 190, with several first-choice players rested.
When does the Proteas v Australia Test series start?
The first Test starts on Friday 9 October at Kingsmead in Durban and runs to 13 October. The second Test is at St George’s Park in Gqeberha from 18 to 22 October, and the third is at Newlands in Cape Town from 27 to 31 October. All three matches form part of the 2025-27 World Test Championship cycle.
Will Kagiso Rabada play in the first Test?
It is not yet certain. Rabada is in the preliminary 18-man squad while he recovers from a right hamstring injury that kept him out of the ODIs. The ICC reported that he will test his fitness in a two-day intra-squad match before the squad is cut to 15, and coach Shukri Conrad said the selectors want to give him every chance.
Is Tony de Zorzi fit for the Kingsmead Test?
De Zorzi hurt his left hamstring while fielding in the third ODI at Potchefstroom and took no further part. TimesLIVE described his availability for the first Test as questionable. If he misses out, uncapped left-hander Marques Ackerman, who scored a century for SA A in England and a double hundred against Bangladesh A, is one of the batting options already in the squad.
Which bowlers are missing for South Africa?
Lungi Ngidi, Ottneil Baartman and Kwena Maphaka are all unavailable while they rehabilitate hamstring injuries. That is why the return of Anrich Nortje, who has 70 wickets in 19 Tests, and the recall of Gerald Coetzee carry extra weight. Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Wiaan Mulder and Dane Paterson give the selectors further seam options in the 18.
Sources used
- https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/breetzke-bowlers-give-south-africa-winning-start-in-durban (checked 05:40 SAST): 1st ODI, Maharaj 4/20, Fortuin, Jansen, WTC cycle
- https://www.flashscore.com/news/brilliant-breetzke-hits-century-to-lead-south-africa-to-first-odi-victory-over-australia/ER2FukJD/ (checked 05:45 SAST): Breetzke 112, last nine wickets for 101
- https://www.namibian.com.na/breetzke-and-maharaj-sink-australia-in-first-one-day-international/ (checked 05:50 SAST): 90-run opening stand
- https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/miller-bavuma-tons-set-up-strong-south-africa-win-in-pink-odi (checked 05:42 SAST): 2nd ODI figures
- https://www.cricket.com.au/news/4582437 (checked 05:48 SAST): 2nd ODI, 130 opening stand, finger spin, Ellis injury
- https://www.flashscore.com/news/miller-bavuma-bash-australia-as-south-africa-win-odi-series/8ns2LE15/ (checked 05:48 SAST): Miller career best, Fortuin, Markram
- https://supersport.com/cricket/news/efea4944-ae5d-4f46-b800-e7a98d695d50/sa-win-toss-and-bowl-in-3rd-odi-v-australia (checked 05:46 SAST): 3rd ODI, five changes, Bavuma rested
- https://www.sportsworldnews.com/articles/80476/20260930/carey-marsh-resurgent-zampa-fire-australia-avoid-series-sweep-rain-shortened-potchefstroom.htm (checked 05:52 SAST): 45-run DLS win, par 190, Zampa, Bartlett, Cummins, Marsh quote
- https://www.timeslive.co.za/sport/cricket/2026-09-30-australia-claim-consolation-win-against-under-par-proteas/ (checked 05:50 SAST): de Zorzi questionable
- https://www.timeslive.co.za/sport/cricket/2026-09-28-nortje-earns-shock-recall-as-proteas-name-test-squad-for-aussie-series/ (checked 05:44 SAST): squad, Conrad quotes, Nortje, Ackerman, Coetzee
- https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/south-africa-name-preliminary-squad-for-first-australia-test (checked 05:46 SAST): injuries, Rabada fitness test, Test dates
- https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/star-proteas-pacer-in-race-to-be-fit-for-australia-tests (checked 05:43 SAST): Rabada record
- https://iol.co.za/sport/cricket/proteas/2026-09-08-the-six-survivors-australias-test-squad-returns-to-south-africa-for-the-scene-of-sandpapergate/ (checked 05:50 SAST): Australia Test squad