Cricket

Proteas underdone ahead of heavyweight Australia clash

By Scott Bailey

Oct 13, 2026

Aiden Markram — South Africa's fielding, usually of a high standard, has been sloppy, betraying a lack of Test play. -AP

South Africa have conceded their sparse schedule may have left them underdone for the heavyweight clash with Australia, as they slide towards first Test defeat in Durban.

Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content

The Proteas have been sloppy with bat, ball and in the field at Kingsmead over the first four days, leaving them 4-102 in pursuit of 421 for victory.

This match is South Africa's first Test since a tour of India last October and November, with the Proteas playing no red-ball cricket at home last summer.

That has at times shown at Kingsmead Stadium, with South Africa guilty of throwing away wickets and dropping two chances on Thursday in the battle of the world's top-two-ranked teams.

They have also shown signs of tiring with the ball as Australia put miles into the quicks' legs, while spinners Keshav Maharaj and Simon Harmer were ineffective.

"It definitely does play a hand," Maharaj said of the schedule.

"Sometimes you can replicate in practice games and match simulations.

"You can hit as many balls or bowl as many balls, but having that feel and that match awareness, it plays a big hand.

"We always know that sometimes we start series significantly slowly, but we find our rhythm. Whatever the outcome of this game is, hopefully we dust ourselves off."

The Proteas' biggest issue has been their batting, with symptoms of a team that has exclusively played white-ball cricket since the end of last year.

All 10 of their dismissals in the first innings were caught out, with Temba Bavuma and Kyle Verreynne both reverse-sweeping and Tristan Stubbs and Wiaan Mulder hooking Pat Cummins.

Then as they fought to hold on for a draw on day four, opener Ryan Rickelton was caught behind attempting an unconvincing hook shot to Josh Hazlewood.

And when Stubbs edged a drive outside off stump to Cummins in final half hour play, South Africa's demise was well summed up.

"If you look at a lot of our dismissals, it's probably self-imposed and maybe shot selection ... That's just sitting from the outside as a player," Maharaj said.

"Maybe the transition from white-ball skills where you want the ball to come on, where you're looking to play a certain way.

"Probably that would be some of the dismissals that led to a demise, rather than it being good bowling, necessarily, without disrespecting anything.

"We gave a couple of soft wickets, if you look at that, even today."