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South Africa Predicted Playing XI vs Australia- 2nd Test, AUS Tour of SA 2026

Mayank

South Africa's predicted XI vs Australia, 2nd Test [Source: AFP]South Africa's predicted XI vs Australia, 2nd Test [Source: AFP]

South Africa will play Australia in the second of the three-match Test series from Sunday, October 18, at the St. George's Park in Gqberha. The must-win match for the Proteas begins at 1:30 PM (IST), as they will look to bounce back into the series.

Following their 214-run defeat in Durban, South Africa were quick to react and they have made a change to their squad, dropping Tristan Stubbs for Matthew Breetzke. Additionally, head coach Shukri Conrad revealed that Ryan Rickelton will take the gloves instead of Kyle Verreynne.

So, as the hosts look to level the series, here's a look at their predicted playing XI.

Top Order: Aiden Markram, Marques Ackerman, David Bedingham

Aiden Markram looked solid in the first Test to kick start the series. He got his eye in during the first innings, scoring 37(67), before showing a fight in the second innings for his 75(237), as the Proteas looked to draw the Test after being asked to chase 421 runs.

Markam will most likely have a new opening partner, and it will most likely be Marques Ackerman. The seasoned Dolphins batter has 85 FC matches under his belt, wherein he has 5986 runs at an average of 48.66. The left-hand batter has a knack to score big hundreds, which was evident with his 256 vs Bangaldesh in August.

Ackerman also scored 107 and 60 in the CSA 4-Day Series in the last match he played. The southpaw will be followed by another FC cricket proven David Bedingham, who recently crossed 10,000 FC runs, averaging 51.27. He also 40s in both innings in Durban and will eye the 1000-run landmark in Tests.

Middle Order and Allrounders- Temba Bavuma (c), Matthew Breetzke, Ryan Rickelton (wk), Wiaan Mulder, Marco Jansen

The South African middle-order will see several changes, but captain Temba Bavuma will keep his place at 4, despite 3 and 1 in the first Test. He often does well when the chips are down and has 3814 Test runs, eyeing to possibly cross the 4000-run mark in Gqeberha.

Matthew Breetzke has been rewarded for his ODI form, where he also scored a century against the Aussies. While he has only scored 14 runs in 3 Test innings so far, he will have a shot at cementing his place at 5 in this series after Stubbs' disappointing form.

As mentioned above, Ryan Rickelton will keep the wickets, hence Breetzke will come in for Kyle Verreynne. This is the first time that Rickelton will be behind the stumps but with 899 runs in 16 Tests so far, and 0 and 2 in the first Test, he will look to find his form in red-ball cricket.

Wiaan Mulder showed his grit in the first Test, scoring 30(50) and 29(110) with the bat and picked 4/68 in the first innings. He will be backed to bat at 7 as their pace-bowling allrounder, alongside Marco Jansen. Jansen bowled well for 3/68 and 1/45 in Durban and also scored 26(20) and 35(54) under pressure to show his value at number 8.

Notably, Jansen is on 93 Test wickets ahead of the Test and him reaching 100 wickets would mean he would have done a good job for the hosts in this Test.

Bowlers- Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Anrich Nortje

Everything indicates to a Kagiso Rabada comeback into the playing XI after he missed the first Test as a precautionary measure, as revealed by Tamba Bavuma. He will replace Simon Harmer, who fared decently in Durban, but the Gqeberha conditions offer more help for pacers.

Rabada averages 22.03 in 73 Tests, picking 340 wickets and has scalped 58 Aussie wickets so far, averaging just 21.39, making him an x-factor bowler. He also adds depth to this long batting lineup.

Keshav Maharaj will be the lone spinner for the Test, despite only managing 2/131 in Durban. He picked 5/76 in the last innings at the venue in 2024 and will look to replicate it to pull South Africa back into the series. If required, Maharaj can also chip in with the bat.

The last time South Africa played at the venue, Dane Paterson picked 5/71 against Sri Lanka, so there could be temptations to rope him in. However, Anrich Nortje did decently on his Test return, picking 2/88 and 2/56 and also has more Test experience, so the Dolphins pacer will stay in the XI, with his express pace.

South Africa Playing XI vs Australia- 2nd Test, 2026

Aiden Markram, Marques Ackerman, David Bedingham, Temba Bavuma (c), Matthew Breetzke, Ryan Rickelton (wk), Wiaan Mulder, Marco Jansen, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Anrich Nortje.