Australia vs South Africa 2026: Live Streaming, Schedule, Squads & TV Channels

FanCode holds the live streaming rights in India for Australia vs South Africa 2026 tour, with Eurosport carrying the TV broadcast. SuperSport covers South Africa, Fox Cricket and Kayo Sports handle Australia, and Sky Sports Cricket airs in the UK. The ODI series begins September 24 at 1:30 PM IST (08:00 UTC) in Durban.

Australia have not played a Test in South Africa since March 2018. That series ended with Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft sent home from Cape Town in disgrace, and the fallout reshaped Australian cricket for years.

Eight years later, Smith returns to Newlands as a vice-captain. Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon — the four bowlers who carried the weight of that tour — are all still in the squad.

South Africa, meanwhile, arrive as reigning World Test Championship winners after beating Australia in the Lord’s final. The subtext writes itself. The tour runs from September 24 to October 31. Three ODIs come first — Durban, Johannesburg, Potchefstroom — before a warm-up match and then three Tests in Durban, Gqeberha and Cape Town.

The ODI series matters for South Africa’s 2027 World Cup build-up. The Tests matter for the WTC table, where Australia sit top and South Africa are chasing.

Australia vs South Africa 2026 Live Streaming & TV Channels

India

Eurosport holds the TV rights, sub-licensed from SuperSport. Live streaming is on FanCode, which requires a Match Pass (₹35) or Tour Pass (₹149) covering all three ODIs and three Tests.

Australia

Fox Cricket and Kayo Sports carry every match of the tour, including the warm-up fixture.

United Kingdom

Sky Sports extended its Cricket South Africa partnership specifically to cover this tour. Both Sky Sports Cricket and Sky Sports+ will carry live coverage.

USA & Canada

Willow is the rights holder, and myco carries the Willow package. Every ODI and Test streams live on myco in full HD.

South Africa

The SABC initially announced a free-to-air partnership for Cricket South Africa matches, but reports from May 2026 indicate that arrangement may not cover this specific tour. SuperSport remains the confirmed broadcaster.

Australia vs South Africa 2026 Full Schedule

ODI matches start at 10:00 AM SAST (08:00 UTC / 1:30 PM IST) for the first two games, and 1:30 PM SAST (11:30 UTC / 5:00 PM IST) for the third. Test matches start at 9:30 AM SAST (07:30 UTC / 1:00 PM IST) in Durban, and 10:00 AM SAST (08:00 UTC / 1:30 PM IST) in Gqeberha and Cape Town.

ODI Series

Warmup Match

Test Series (ICC World Test Championship 2025–27)

Australia vs South Africa 2026 Squads

Australia ODI Squad — Confirmed

Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Marsh (vc), Alex Carey (wk), Josh Inglis (wk), Xavier Bartlett, Cooper Connolly, Joel Davies, Jack Edwards, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Oliver Peake, Matthew Renshaw, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa

Key Absences: Spencer Johnson (managed workload) and Billy Stanlake (side injury) both returned to Australia after the Zimbabwe series. Jack Edwards was added as a pace-bowling replacement. Mitchell Marsh captained the side in Zimbabwe while Cummins was rested, and Marsh may continue to lead in some ODIs as Cummins’ workload is carefully managed ahead of the Tests.

Players to watch: Cooper Connolly has firmed as Australia’s long-term No.3 after back-to-back half-centuries against Zimbabwe. Jack Edwards would make his ODI debut if selected.

Australia Test Squad — Confirmed

Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cooper Connolly, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster

Key Absences: None beyond the usual rotation. This is effectively Australia’s first-choice Test squad.

Players to watch: Marnus Labuschagne retained his spot despite averaging 24.69 in 43 innings since his last Test century in July 2023. His record in South Africa is strong — both his ODI hundreds came there, and he averages over 60 from eight innings in the country of his birth. Matthew Kuhnemann’s selection as the second spinner opens the possibility of twin left-arm spinners alongside Nathan Lyon at St George’s Park, a venue that has historically taken turn.

South Africa ODI Squad — Confirmed

Temba Bavuma (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Corbin Bosch, Matthew Breetzke, Gerald Coetzee, Tony de Zorzi, Bjorn Fortuin, Duan Jansen, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kwena Maphaka, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Nqobani Mokoena, Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs

Key Absences: Kagiso Rabada (hamstring), Lungi Ngidi (hamstring), Ottneil Baartman (hamstring), and Nandré Burger (back) are all sidelined. Aiden Markram will miss the first ODI due to personal reasons. Dewald Brevis and Lhuan-dre Pretorius, both of whom impressed in Australia last year, were left out.

Players to watch: Duan Jansen — twin brother of Marco — and 20-year-old Nqobani Mokoena are international rookies thrown into a series against the world’s top-ranked ODI side due to the pace crisis. Gerald Coetzee returns to ODI cricket for the first time since the 2023 World Cup.

South Africa Test Squad

Temba Bavuma (c), Dean Elgar, Aiden Markram, Keegan Petersen, Tony de Zorzi, Kyle Verreynne (wk), Heinrich Klaasen, Marco Jansen, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Keshav Maharaj, Gerald Coetzee, Wiaan Mulder

Key uncertainty: Kagiso Rabada’s hamstring injury is the central question. He was officially ruled out of the ODI series, and head coach Shukri Conrad has not ruled out his return for the first Test on October 9 in Durban. Rabada has taken 58 wickets in 11 Tests against Australia at an average of 21.39 — his presence or absence could decide the series.

Players to watch: Ryan Rickelton and David Bedingham have been mentioned in provisional squad discussions. Tristan Stubbs’ red-ball development is worth tracking if he is selected.

What to Watch For

Kingsmead in late September and early October is not the Kingsmead of mid-summer. Durban’s coastal humidity creates swing-friendly conditions in the morning, and the first Test’s 9:30 AM start is designed to exploit that window.

Mitchell Starc’s new-ball spell on Day 1 against Quinton de Kock and Tony de Zorzi will set the tone for the series. South Africa’s top order has been vulnerable to left-arm angle. Starc took 5 for 34 at Kingsmead in the 2022 Test here, and the surface has only gotten slower since. If Rabada is fit, the reverse; Rabada against Australia’s left-hand-heavy top order of Head, Renshaw and Connolly — is the counterpunch.

The ODI series is less about the result and more about what it reveals for 2027. South Africa’s pace attack is decimated, which means Marco Jansen carries a workload he has never managed in a bilateral series.

His 10-over spells will be scrutinised Jansen has historically been more effective in four-over bursts than in longer ODI spells. Australia, meanwhile, are using this series to decide their No.3 for the World Cup. Cooper Connolly has two half-centuries at first drop; a third would make the position his. If he fails, Matt Renshaw’s case strengthens.

The Newlands Test is the emotional centre of the tour, but the cricket might be decided at St George’s Park. Gqeberha has produced the most spin-friendly surface in South Africa over the past three seasons, and Australia have picked two left-arm spinners in Kuhnemann and Lyon.

South Africa’s Keshav Maharaj is the most experienced spinner on either side. If the Gqeberha pitch turns, this becomes a selection battle: does Australia play both spinners and drop a seamer, or do they trust their pace attack to exploit the reverse swing that St George’s Park offers in the afternoon? The answer will likely decide the series.