Australia vs South Africa squads, schedule & preview: All you need to know

Australia vs South Africa squads: Beginning on December 17, Australia will host South Africa for a three-match Test series. Since winning the 2018 limited-overs tour, this will be South Africa’s first trip abroad. The 2018 series in South Africa was very contentious due to the well-known ball-tampering scandal involving the Australian team, which stunned many of the spectators.

After four years, the two teams will finally face off in a Test series, and the anticipation among the fans is already high. In the Proteas dugout, a lot of players have changed, especially without household names like Hashim Amla, AB de Villers, and Faf du Plessis.

Australia, on the other hand, has dominated the format over the past year, whether they are playing at home or away. Australia travelled to Pakistan for a three-match series and won it by a score of 1-0 after crushing England in the Ashes the previous year. They did drop a test in Sri Lanka, but they were still able to tie the series.

Overall, a highly competitive Test series between two elite teams is anticipated, with a place in the World Test Championship final still up for grabs.

While Dean Elgar will captain the Proteas under the direction of Mark Boucher, a former South African wicket-keeper batsman, Pat Cummins will command the Australian test team. The most intriguing fact is that Australian captain Pat Cummins and South African captain Dean Elgar both made their test debuts against South Africa in 2011. Since then, Cummins has taken 197 test wickets while Elgar has amassed 4,864 runs from 76 test matches. Australia currently maintains the top spot, while South Africa is ranked fourth in the ICC Test team ranking for 2022.

Australia vs South Africa Schedule

Dec 17 – Dec 21	Australia vs South Africa, 1st Test	The Gabba, Brisbane	5:50 AM IST
Dec 26 – Dec 30	Australia vs South Africa, 2nd Test	MCG, Melbourne	5:50 AM IST
Jan 04 – Jan 08	Australia vs South Africa, 3rd Test	SCG, Sydney	5:50 AM IST

Australia vs South Africa Squads

South Africa squad

Dean Elgar (captain), Temba Bavuma, Gerald Coetzee, Theunis de Bruyn, Sarel Erwee, Simon Harmer, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada, Glenton Stuurman, Rassie van der Dussen, Kyle Verreynne, Khaya Zondo

Australia squad

Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Lance Morris, Michael Neser, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, David Warner