Kagiso Rabada
South Africa will have fast bowler Kagiso Rabada back in their side for the second Test against Australia, which begins at St George’s Park on Sunday, captain Temba Bavuma said.
The fast bowler has taken 58 wickets in 11 Tests against them at an average of 21.39. His tally includes nine wickets in South Africa’s World Test Championship final win at Lord’s in 2025 and 11 wickets in the corresponding match during the 2017/18 series, when South Africa bounced back after losing the opening Test in Durban. For Australia, Cummins said Matt Renshaw was set to continue at number five after scoring 190 and 82 in Durban to earn the man-of-the-match award.
With rain forecast for the first two days, Bavuma and Australia captain Pat Cummins said they would wait until Sunday to finalise their playing XIs. However, Bavuma indicated that Rabada was set to feature, saying the pacer was “raring to go”. “The bowlers feed massively off him,” said Bavuma. “The first innings was where we fell short,” he said.
The South African captain also highlighted Rabada’s record against Australia. “There’s an aura and a lot of belief in KG (Rabada) and that rubs off on the other players. “To concede a lead like that on a wicket like that was rather criminal.
Rabada missed the first Test in Durban, where South Africa suffered a 214-run defeat, as he continued his recovery from a hamstring injury.
“He just said, ‘yep, no worries, whatever the team needs’.” He has since trained with the team and is now ready to return.