A fortnight ago the ICC put South Africa at the top of its Test rankings. Nice view up there. On Sunday morning the climb turns into something harder: staying put. Our Proteas v Bangladesh preview starts with that feeling, because this is South Africa’s first Test since they climbed to No 1, and Temba Bavuma knows what comes with it. In a recent interview quoted by AFP, he said that “the target is on our back and everyone wants to have a go at us”.
The first Test of the Bangladesh Test series starts at 10:00 SAST on Sunday 15 November at the DP World Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg and is scheduled to run until Thursday. Bangladesh have never beaten South Africa in a Test. They also arrive with a fast-bowling group the home coach says is a world away from the attacks they used to bring. Both things can be true at once. That is why Sunday is worth setting an alarm for.
Proteas v Bangladesh preview: quick facts
| Match | South Africa v Bangladesh, first Test of two |
| Dates | Sunday 15 to Thursday 19 November 2026 |
| First ball | 10:00 SAST |
| Venue | The Wanderers, Johannesburg |
| Captains | Temba Bavuma (South Africa), Najmul Hossain Shanto (Bangladesh) |
| Head to head | 16 Tests: South Africa 14 wins, two draws |
| World Test Championship | South Africa second, Bangladesh fifth |
| Second Test | SuperSport Park, Centurion, Monday 23 to Friday 27 November |
| Playing XIs | Not named when we checked on Saturday morning |
Why the first Test matters more than the record suggests
It would be easy to treat this as a warm-up for England in December. Shukri Conrad has gone out of his way to kill that idea. “I said to the squad yesterday when we got together, this now becomes our biggest tour of the summer,” the coach said on Thursday, TimesLIVE reported.
He has reasons beyond politeness. South Africa are the reigning World Test champions, second in the current championship table, and they reached No 1 by coming from 1-0 down to beat Australia 2-1.
Then there is Temba Bavuma himself. AFP counts 13 wins, one draw and one defeat in his first 15 Tests as captain, a start it says no Test captain has bettered; only Australia’s Lindsay Hassett matched it. Sunday is No 16. Lovely braai talk. It scores no runs.
Team news: South Africa
No XI yet. Cricket South Africa had not named a starting XI when we checked on Saturday morning, and we will not guess one. What Conrad said this week narrows it to three questions.
Who replaces Nortje? Anrich Nortje trained fully on Thursday, but Conrad has ruled him out of Sunday and pointed to Centurion for his return, TimesLIVE and the Diamond Fields Advertiser report. That leaves Dane Paterson and Corbin Bosch competing for what TimesLIVE calls the fourth seamer’s spot.
One spinner, and which one? Conrad has ruled out a five-seamer attack in blunt terms. “Even if you go with five quicks, someone’s not going to bowl his overs,” he said. “But a fifth seamer, for me, is a bit of a waste. Because if the four aren’t going to bowl a side out, trust me, the fifth one’s not going to do that.” The all-rounder who makes that possible has his record with bat and ball in our Wiaan Mulder profile. The spinner’s place is between Simon Harmer, who took 10 wickets and the player-of-the-match award at Newlands against Australia, and Keshav Maharaj, whom Daily Maverick describes as ever-effective.
Who bats at three? David Bedingham’s omission leaves the place to Tony de Zorzi, fit again after the hamstring injury that kept him out of the Australia series, or to Zubayr Hamza. Conrad, Reuters reported, does not want the position to look like “a bit of a revolving door”, and he wants whoever gets it to stay. “I’ll be very surprised if the batting top seven changes between now and the end of the English tour,” he said. That turns Sunday’s pick into a long-term call. The case for the left-hander, including what he has done against these opponents before, is in our Tony de Zorzi profile.
Lungi Ngidi is not in the Test squad. CSA says he is continuing his rehabilitation, and TimesLIVE expects him to play in the white-ball series in December.
Team news: Bangladesh
The Bangladesh Cricket Board named a squad of 16 on Monday 9 November, led by Najmul Hossain Shanto. Two absences shape it. Shadman Islam twisted an ankle while fielding in the second Test against the West Indies in Sylhet and misses the Test series, the ICC and the Daily Times of Bangladesh report. The fast bowler Nahid Rana, injured since July, is also missing. “He is definitely ruled out of the Test series,” chief selector Habibul Bashar told IANS.
What is left is a seam-heavy group: five specialist quicks in Taskin Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud, Shoriful Islam, Ebadot Hossain and Khaled Ahmed. Hasan took 9 for 111 in the nine-wicket win over Australia in Darwin in August, and Shoriful took 7 for 48 against Australia at Mackay. TimesLIVE counts 45 wickets between Taskin, Hasan and Shoriful this year. Taskin puts it down to a group that talks: “We genuinely believe that a single piece of advice from one of us could prove beneficial to a teammate.”
The batting is the question their own coach keeps asking. Since Darwin, Bangladesh have lost a Test to Australia in two days, drawn with Afghanistan and lost a home series 1-0 to the West Indies. “Since Darwin, we haven’t batted well,” Bangladesh coach Phil Simmons admitted, TimesLIVE reported.
One batter has. Towhid Hridoy made 350 not out for Bangladesh A against South Africa A in Potchefstroom in September, then 242 not out against the West Indies, AFP and the Diamond Fields Advertiser report. Mahfijul Islam is uncapped, and Naim Sheikh is back in the Test squad after more than four years. The Daily Star reports that Dale Benkenstein, the former South Africa ODI player, is working with them on the tour as a batting specialist.
The squads
South Africa (Cricket South Africa): Temba Bavuma (captain), Marques Ackerman, Matthew Breetzke, Corbin Bosch, Tony de Zorzi, Simon Harmer, Zubayr Hamza, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Anrich Nortje, Dane Paterson, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton.
Bangladesh (Bangladesh Cricket Board, as reported by the ICC): Najmul Hossain Shanto (captain), Tanzid Hasan, Naim Sheikh, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Litton Das, Towhid Hridoy, Jaker Ali, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Taskin Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud, Shoriful Islam, Ebadot Hossain, Khaled Ahmed, Mahfijul Islam.
How South Africa’s selectors arrived at their 15, and who missed out, is unpacked in our Beyond the Score on the Bangladesh squad.
The pitch: grass, heat and pace for both sides
The Wanderers has not staged a Test since March 2023, Conrad’s first series in charge, according to TimesLIVE. Curator Brendon Frost wants the ground’s pace and bounce back, the Diamond Fields Advertiser reports, with some grass left on for the quicks but enough life for five days; take too much off, he explained, and the surface can break up and turn.
Conrad’s worry is the weather. “It’s obviously excessively hot here, so we just hope that it’s not over-prepared and ready too early,” he said.
Here is the twist. A pitch that rewards pace rewards both sides’ pace. “They’ve got a fast bowling attack now,” Conrad said of Bangladesh. “Whereas in years gone by, they’d come here, with all due respect, with a pop-gun attack. Now they’ve got guys that can mix it, especially up here on the Highveld, where we expect conditions to favour fast bowling.” South Africa have borrowed some inside knowledge: Charl Langeveldt, who has coached Bangladesh before, has joined the home staff. “I think he’s going to be a massive influence for us,” Conrad said.
Head to head: sixteen Tests, no Bangladesh win
South Africa have won 14 of the 16 Tests between the sides; the other two were rain-affected draws in Bangladesh in 2015, AFP reports. In South Africa, Bangladesh have played eight and lost eight, five of them by an innings. The last visit, in 2022, ended 2-0. South Africa also won 2-0 in Bangladesh in 2024, a series Bavuma calls pivotal on the road to the championship final. The Daily Star notes this will be Bangladesh’s first Test at the Wanderers, on their fifth Test tour of the country.
Bavuma is not reading any of that as comfort. “I think now you look across the world, there’s no team that’s an easy team,” he told SuperSport, as reported by The Daily Star. The aim, he said, is to make sure you are “not caught with your pants down”.
What happens next
CSA had not named its XI on Saturday morning; the teams are confirmed at the toss at the latest. The second Test follows at SuperSport Park from Monday 23 November, where Conrad expects Nortje to be available, and then three Tests against England, the first at the Wanderers in December. Sunday’s pick at No 3 is the first test of Conrad’s settled top seven. A No 1 ranking can start to feel heavy very quickly.
Frequently asked questions
When does the first Test between South Africa and Bangladesh start?
At 10:00 SAST on Sunday 15 November 2026. It is scheduled to run until Thursday 19 November, and the second Test starts at SuperSport Park, Centurion, on Monday 23 November.
Where is the first Proteas v Bangladesh Test being played?
At the Wanderers in Johannesburg, which has not hosted a Test since March 2023. It will be Bangladesh’s first Test at the ground.
Is Anrich Nortje playing in the first Test against Bangladesh?
No. Coach Shukri Conrad has ruled Nortje out of the first Test as he returns from a groin injury, and expects him to be available for the second Test in Centurion. Dane Paterson and Corbin Bosch are competing for the fourth seamer’s place.
Who is in the Bangladesh Test squad for the tour of South Africa?
Najmul Hossain Shanto captains a 16-man squad with five fast bowlers: Taskin Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud, Shoriful Islam, Ebadot Hossain and Khaled Ahmed. Shadman Islam and Nahid Rana are both injured and miss the series.
Have Bangladesh ever beaten South Africa in a Test?
No. South Africa have won 14 of the 16 Tests between the sides and two were drawn. Bangladesh have lost all eight Tests they have played in South Africa.