South Africa and Australia last met in a Test match in the World Test Championship final in June 2025 and they renew their rivalry at Kingsmead in Durban starting on Friday.
The Proteas came out on top by five wickets at Lord's and were also dominant when the two sides last met in a Test series in South Africa, winning 3-1 in March 2018.
Australia will be without all-rounder Cameron Green due to an abdominal strain and he will not bowl at all during this three-match series, with Cooper Connolly and Nic Maddinson his two most likely replacements.
The hosts also have a few injury problems, with Tony de Zorzi, Lungi Ngidi, Kwena Maphaka and Ottneil Baartman all ruled out and star pacer Kagiso Rabada - who took nine wickets in the WTC final - a major doubt.
South Africa v Australia Tips Summary
Best Bet - Pat Cummins top 1st innings bowler @ 11/2
Alternative Bet - Aiden Markram over 8.5 match fours @ 4/5
Bet Builder - Steve Smith 50+ 1st innings runs, Keshav Maharaj over 4+ match wickets & South Africa highest individual score over 102.5 @ 2/1
South Africa v Australia Prediction
Best Bet: Pat Cummins top 1st innings bowler @ 11/2
Skipper Pat Cummins is back to lead the Aussie pace attack, and he is offered as the best bet to be the top first-innings bowler in the match due to his superb record against and in South Africa.
Cummins has taken 29 wickets at 20.31 in five previous Test appearances in South Africa, while his overall record against the Proteas is 48 wickets from nine matches at a superb average of 18.31.
His Test debut as far back as 2011 saw him claim seven wickets in the match, while Cummins will be eager to improve on his only previous Test outing at Kingsmead, when he took 1-47 in both innings of a 118-run victory in March 2018.
Alternative Bet: Aiden Markram over 8.5 match fours @ 4/5
While Cummins is backed on the basis of his previous performances against South Africa, Proteas batter Aiden Markram is also selected due to his success against the Baggy Green, which is already in the book.
Markram may not have delivered on his ability in his overall Test career to date, but he has enjoyed himself against Australia, making three centuries in ten innings and averaging 61.60.
His match returns for fours hit in five Tests against the Aussies read 25, 4, 10, 21 and 14, so taking Markram to get over the 8.5 mark at Kingsmead seems like a decent option.
South Africa v Australia Bet Builder Tip
Steve Smith 50+ 1st innings runs
Keshav Maharaj over 4+ match wickets
South Africa highest individual score over 102.5
Pays 2/1
Steve Smith may not have an outstanding record against the Proteas, having reached three figures just twice in 23 Test innings, but his first-innings knocks in his six Test matches in South Africa are 100, 49, 84, 56, 25 and 5.
On the evidence of the first four of those six scores, and his 66 in the first innings of the WTC final, he is backed to pass 50 in the first innings at Kingsmead.
Left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj may not have a record against Australia to write home about, but on his only previous Test outing against the Baggy Green in Durban, he claimed nine wickets in the match.
He is included in this Bet Builder to pass the much lower mark of over four match wickets.
Finally, the home side's batting line-up may not be its strongest ever, but one of the Proteas' batters is taken to make a score of over 102.5 in the match, a mark that was surpassed in all four Tests of the 2018 series between these two sides.
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Key Match Stats
South Africa have won the last three Tests against Australia at Kingsmead by 112, 175 and 118 runs.
Aiden Markram has made three centuries in ten Test innings against the Baggy Green
The Proteas won 3-1 when these two sides last met in a Test series in South Africa in 2018
Australia were unbeaten in seven tours of South Africa before losing out eight years ago
Pat Cummins has claimed 29 wickets at 20.31 in five Test appearances in South Africa
Steve Smith has only made two centuries in 23 previous Test innings against the Proteas
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
