Rarely has the off-field history between two international teams dominated the build-up to a tour quite as much as the infamous Sandpapergate scandal of 2018 as Australia arrive in South Africa for their first test series since losing for the first time on South African soil in the post-isolation era.
After losing the opening test of the series at Kingsmead by 118 runs, with Mitchell Starc claiming match figures of 9-109 the Proteas bounced back with some scintillating performances to claim the series 3-1, culminating in a record drubbing of their old foes by 492-runs in the final fixture at the Wanderers.
AB de Villiers lead the way with the bat scoring 427 runs at an average of 71.6 including four half-centuries and an unbeaten 126 in the second test at St George’s Park, an innings he described recently as “possibly the best of my career".
You know when AB posted that tweet, the game was already over 😂🔥
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) September 15, 2026
The Proteas v Australia tour gets under way from the 24th of September with 3 ODI's 🏏#SSCricket #SAvAUS pic.twitter.com/IyNEebl0TQ
Kagiso Rabada was at his imperious best with a return of 11-150 as South Africa prevailed by six-wickets to square the series although a contentious body-check with Steve Smith briefly saw him banned from the third test at Newlands before a legal challenge resulted in him being cleared to play.
When your mate tells you that the Aussies are coming to South Africa for the first time since 2018 💥#SSCricket #SAvAUS pic.twitter.com/RxlsU1xDtf
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) September 14, 2026
Opener Dean Elgar carried his bat for an unbeaten 141 in the first innings in Cape Town but it was South Africa’s dogged fight to a total of 373 in the second, and a lead of over 400, which resulted in Australia’s desperate resort to skullduggery in a bid to get back into the contest.
SANDPAPERGATE
Cameron Bancroft, the man who applied the sandpaper to the ball in search of the reverse-swing which had made Starc so devastating in the first test, was largely seen as a naive young player in the wrong place at the wrong time but there was no escape for captain Smith, and David Warner, who was regarded as the plot instigator. All three were sent home, with Bancroft receiving a nine-month ban with Smith and Warner out of the game for a year.
The hosts piled up totals of 488 and 344-6 in the fourth test with Aiden Markram (152) and captain Faf du Plessis (120) posting centuries to which Temba Bavuma added an unbeaten 95. A beleaguered and bewildered Australia were set a preposterous fourth innings target of 612 and, with three jetlagged new players, duly crumbled to 119 all out with ‘The Surgeon’, Vernon Philander, slicing out 6-21.
🇿🇦 No one loved playing against Australia more than Big Vern 🔥#SSCricket #SAvAUS pic.twitter.com/fApe319RvW
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) September 14, 2026
“Talk of ‘Sandpapergate’ will be around for the whole series. If I was in the Australian camp, I would be preparing for it. One thing’s for certain – if it was any other team arriving in Australia, you would hear about it from the media and the crowds from the day you got off that plane to the day you left.
"Part of touring is dealing with that, and it’s something that Australia can’t shy away from now,” said former captain Graeme Smith in his recent column for SA20 sponsors, Betway. He was just warming up.
“It’s part of their history, and it’s something they’re going to have to deal with, whether it’s at a media conference or in the ground. They’re going to have to have a strategy around dealing with it throughout the tour.
"Hopefully the cricket will shine through in a really competitive series with lots of great talking points, because I think, in particular, both batting units are under pressure.”
APPETISER ODIS
The tour begins with three ODIs starting at Kingsmead on Thursday but, despite their importance as preparation for next years World Cup, they are undeniably appetisers for the test main course.
That one time Quinton De Kock smashed a career-best 178 off 113 balls against Australia 💥
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) September 14, 2026
The Summer of cricket can’t start soon enough 🔥#SSCricket #SAvAUS pic.twitter.com/43G88hAcws
Both countries are well placed for a repeat of the last World Test Championship final – which South Africa won – but even that enticing prospect, for both teams, is in second place to the intrigue surrounding their return to the scene of one of the most infamous incidents in test history.
The Summer is starting off with a banger 💥
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) September 21, 2026
3 ODI's 👏
3 Test matches 🔥
South Africa v Australia, one of the biggest rivalries in cricket 🏏#SSCricket #SAvAUS pic.twitter.com/ah05vqIYjV
SA ODI SQUAD: Aiden Markram, Quinton de Kock (wkt), Ryan Rickelton (wkt), Temba Bavuma (captain), Tristan Stubbs, David Miller, Matthew Breetzke, Tony de Zorzi, Corbin Bosch, Marco Jansen, Duan Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Bjorn Fortuin, Gerald Coetzee, Kwena Maphaka
AUSTRALIA ODI SQUAD: Travis Head, Mitch Marsh, Cooper Connolly, Steve Smith, Josh Inglis (wkt), Alex Carey (wkt), Matt Renshaw, Oliver Peake, Pat Cummins (captain), Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Joel Davies, Adam Zampa, Mitchell Starc, Spencer Johnson, Xavier Bartlett, Josh Hazlewood
ODI FIXTURES:
Sep 24 – Kingsmead, Durban (10am)
Sep 27 – Wanderers, Johannesburg (10am)
Sep 30 – Senwes Park, Potchefstroom (1:30pm)
TESTS:
Oct 9-13 – Kingsmead, Durban
Oct 18-22 – St.George’s Park, Gqeberha
Oct 27-31 – Newlands, Cape Town