South Africa vs Australia
1st Test

South Africa play Australia in the 1st Test of South Africa v Australia 2026 at Kingsmead, Durban, on Fri 9 Oct 2026.

Australia’s form coming in: beat Zimbabwe (Australia won by 84 runs, Fri 18 Sep 2026, 2nd ODI); beat Zimbabwe (Australia won by 1 wkt, Sun 20 Sep 2026, 3rd ODI).

The five scheduled days: Day 1 Fri 9 Oct; Day 2 Sat 10 Oct; Day 3 Sun 11 Oct; Day 4 Mon 12 Oct; Day 5 Tue 13 Oct. Daily start times haven’t been published yet.

In Tests, South Africa and Australia have met 102 times: South Africa won 27, Australia 54, 21 drawn (records to 26 November 2025).

Earlier meetings we list: 1st ODI of Australia tour of South Africa 2026 (Thu 24 Sep 2026): South Africa won by 67 runs; 2nd ODI of Australia tour of South Africa 2026 (Sun 27 Sep 2026): South Africa won by 32 runs; 3rd ODI of Australia tour of South Africa 2026 (Wed 30 Sep 2026): Australia won by 45 runs (DLS Method due to rain).

The sides meet again in the 2nd Test, Sun 18 Oct 2026 at St George’s Park.

Kingsmead holds 25,000, its ends are the Umgeni End and the Old Fort Road End. Durban’s Test ground and the home of the Dolphins; part of the viewing area is grass terracing.

At Kingsmead: Its first Test, South Africa v England, was played from 18 to 22 January 1923. The 1939 Test against England ran from 3 to 13 March before it was called off so England would not miss their ship home. It hosted South Africa’s first home Test after readmission to international cricket.

Ground facts: en.wikipedia.org ↗