South Africa fast bowler Kagiso Rabada misses out on ‌the first Test of the three-match series against Australia in Durban as he continues to recover from a hamstring injury suffered in June.

Naming their side for the series opener, which starts on Friday – live on Sky Sports Cricket from 7.30am (play starts 8.30am) – South Africa have instead opted for two spinners, Simon Harmer and Keshav Maharaj, while Anrich Nortje is a surprise selection.

Rabada trained with the team at Kingsmead on Thursday, and it’s hopeful he’ll still have a part to play in the second and third Tests, the first of which in Gqeberha starts on October 18.

“It ‌wasn’t an easy decision,” South Africa captain Temba Bavuma said on Thursday. “I think we did go the conservative route, to give him a couple ​of extra days to get closer to where he can be at 100 per cent fitness.

“Obviously for us, as ⁠soon as he gets the green ⁠light from the medical team, we expect him to be in the starting lineup.”

As for the recall of 32-year-old pacer Nortje, more than three years since he last played first-class cricket, Bavuma said: “It’s hard to ignore his X factor.

“There aren’t many guys around who are bowling 150 (kph) plus. And I think as a batter that’s not something that I ⁠would look forward to.”

Bavuma added on the selection of both Harmer and Maharaj: “Those ​spin twins, if I can call them that, have added another ​dimension to our bowling attack.

“As much as we’ve always been about ⁠fast bowling, when conditions have allowed for spinners to come into the game they’ve been able to play an effective role.

“If the conditions play that way, the whole team ⁠is confident in that they can put the ​opposition under pressure. I think there’s a healthy competition between them ​so that always helps.”

Australia toy with controversial selection of Maddinson

Australia, still yet to name their team for the first Test, are toying with their own bold selection and the potential recall of batter Nic Maddinson.

Maddinson played three Test matches for Australia in late 2016, averaging 6.75, with his career since stalled by injury, mental health issues, and then a testicular cancer diagnosis that sidelined him for most of last year.

As a result, the 34-year-old hasn’t played a first-class match since March 2025, but it was he who got the nod last week as a late addition to the touring squad due to injuries to Cameron Green and Josh Inglis.

Former Australian opener Matthew Hayden was critical of the call up, saying on the All Over Bar The Cricket podcast: “We are promoting the greatest pile of mediocrity that we’ve seen in a generation of cricket.

“And if we continue to lay that out and expect a bloke averaging 35 is going to average 55 in Test match cricket, then [selectors] George Bailey and Tony Dodemaide, you are dreaming.

“I will just put it that simply. You are frigging dreaming. You are piling up this dog s*** explanation and, in my opinion, disrespecting first-class cricket.

“You should be picking guys averaging 45 or more, and you can’t, because they don’t want to play. They don’t want to play this version of the game.

“Mitch Marsh is a good example. He is making millions of dollars playing cricket all over the world for franchises. This is the fundamental problem we have.”

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