Cummins weighs Cape Town changes; Green, Inglis available

Australia captain Pat Cummins is considering changes to his side for the third and final Test against South Africa in Cape Town. He expects Cameron Green and Josh Inglis to be available for selection.

Cummins has said he will hold off on selection decisions until the team reaches Cape Town.

The three-Test series is level at 1-1 after Australia’s defeat by an innings and 31 runs in Gqeberha. Both sides are fighting for a place in next year’s World Test Championship Final.

The selection questions

Green was sidelined by injury for the first two Tests, while Inglis has been declared fit, according to Dawn.

Cricket.com.au reports that Cummins has named Steve Smith a certain starter for the third Test, despite a neck complaint during the second Test.

Scott Boland replaced spinner Nathan Lyon in Gqeberha and took five of the nine South African wickets to fall. That has put his place under review for Newlands.

Batting under scrutiny

Travis Head has urged the top order to build collective performances. He noted that Australia have not produced two fifty-plus scores in the same innings across their last four Tests.

Head also said the batting failures in Gqeberha were down to a poor day rather than a lack of effort, according to cricket.com.au.

What’s next

The third Test of the Australia tour of South Africa 2026 is scheduled for 27 to 31 October at Newlands in Cape Town, according to the ICC. It begins on Tuesday, 27 October at 2:00 PM IST.

After the tour, Australia face England in a white-ball series, with the first match on Friday, 13 November at 9:00 AM IST and the second on Sunday, 15 November at 9:00 AM IST.

South Africa’s next fixtures after Cape Town are against England: the first on Thursday, 17 December at 1:30 PM IST and the second on Saturday, 26 December at 1:30 PM IST.