Big summer ahead: Here’s the first Australia XI we should see on Friday

Wed 7 Oct 2026, 11:14am AEDT - Isaac McIntyre

Australia’s first Test against South Africa starts Friday, and the big question remains: who will actually turn out in Durban as the team looks to get the summer off to a flyer?

The biggest calls come in batting, with the bowling squadron all but locked down. Yes, that means we’ll see Pat Cummins, Mitch Starc, Josh Hazlewood, and Nathan Lyon together again.

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First up, the selectors and coaches are going to have to decide whether they want to stick with Travis Head as an opener. The move was a revelation when he dominated the Ashes last time out, but there are some who are concerned he could be exposed coming up against the lethal South African spearhead.

This Sporting Base writer would leave him as the number one, though, and pair him with Matt Renshaw to open the order. While it’s easy to agree that Head could do a proper shift in the middle again, opening options are still quite short.

Then there’s who’s coming in behind him. With Renshaw out there immediately, the obvious answer is that Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith will roll out third and fourth.

Then, it should be Cooper Connolly. This is where Cameron Green would have been, but the injured all-rounder suffered an abdominal muscle injury batting in the final 50-over match against South Africa and took no part in the two-day trial on the weekend. That leaves someone needed where he was playing.

Another pick that has been floated is Nic Maddinson, but Connolly likely has the edge considering he was already in the Australian squad as named ⁠— Maddinson was jetted over late as an emergency replacement.

With all that laid out, here’s the squad Australia should run with Friday.