Star South African fast bowler Kagiso Rabada will miss the first Test against Australia starting at Kingsmead on Friday - but Anrich Nortje will return for his first Test appearance since 2023.
Rabada, who took nine wickets in the match when South Africa beat the same opponents in the World Test Championship final at Lord's last year, would be given more time to recover from a hamstring injury, according to South African captain Temba Bavuma.
But Bavuma was excited by the return of Nortje, who he said was an "X-Factor" player. "There are not many guys around bowling at 150kmh plus," Bavuma said at his pre-match press conference.
Nortje, 32, has had a history of injuries, including back stress fractures, but has been working hard on his fitness. He played in the European T20 Premier League in the Netherlands and Ireland last month and impressed Bavuma with the pace he achieved in South Africa's week-long preparation for the Test.
South Africa opted for two specialist spin bowlers in left-armer Keshav Maharaj and off-spinner Simon Harmer. Fast bowlers Nortje and Marco Jansen will be backed up by seam bowling all-rounder Wiaan Mulder. While Bavuma announced South Africa's 11, Australian captain Pat Cummins said that the tourists would wait until Friday morning before finalising their team.
Cummins said he was "super-excited" about a series between what he described as the "number one and two teams in the world". It is the start of a heavy 12-month schedule of Tests for his team, during which time they will also tour India and England.
Although Australia were good at playing the "big moments", Cummins added that "we need to get better at the grind".
Cummins did not commit to the likely balance of his bowling attack or whether left-arm spinner Matthew Kuhnemann would join off-spinner Nathan Lyon in the line-up. "They definitely could both play," said Cummins. "Kuhnny brings something a little bit different, spinning the ball away from the right-handers. If we need both spinners he's done it well for us in the past."
South Africa team
Temba Bavuma (captain), Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, David Bedingham, Tristan Stubbs, Wiaan Mulder, Kyle Verreynne (wkt), Marco Jansen, Simon Harmer, Keshav Maharaj, Anrich Nortje.
