Cricket South Africa v Australia: third men’s cricket Test, day one – live Updates from the final match of the series at Newlands First ball in Cape Town is 10.30am local/7.30pm AEDT/8.30am GMT Any thoughts?
with an email LIVE Updated 4m ago Geoff Lemon (now) and Rob Smyth (later) Tue 27 Oct 2026 07.41 GMTFirst published on Tue 27 Oct 2026 07.30 GMT Share Key events 14m ago Preamble Captains Temba Bavuma and Pat Cummins renew the South Africa and Australia rivalry in the third Test at Newlands.
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Play start time in Cape Town is 10.30am local/7.30pm AEDT/8.30am GMT.
Always worth checking in this game.
Thankfully the forecast suggests that we’ll have less annoyance with rain and light than in the first two Tests, that both got dragged out to five days when better conditions might have had them wrapped up in three or four.
For Cape Town, the weather is set fair, with sunny days and just some scattered cloud expected.
Cool temperatures given the season, low 20s will be the max.
Ideal for the players.
One, two, three.
That’s as many Tests as we’re going to get in this series, and today begins the third and final.
It’s the one that we’ve all been waiting for: the return to Cape Town, the scene of all that went wrong for Australia in 2018, and thus the location with so much riding on it should they put on a performance that would create some fresher and better memories.
That, though, would require a serious turnaround in form and fortune, given the way South Africa slowly stomped them last week in Gqeberha.
Australia’s batting is the weak point, given their win in Durban was largely carried on the capacious shell of The Turtle, Matthew Renshaw, while their loss the following week was down to their insipid 99 all out in their first attempt with the bat.
We probably already know what the teams will be, pending any late injuries or changes of heart, with minimal changes likely.
One batting change for Australia will create a shuffle: Cameron Green back into the side from injury means Nic Maddinson out on lack of runs, with Matt Renshaw moving up to open.
Marnus Labuschagne and Beau Webster likely stay put.
The other change will be Nathan Lyon in for Scott Boland.
Cue debate.
There’s some chance Steve Smith will miss with his neck injury, in which case Josh Inglis would likely come in rather than Maddinson shifting down.
As for South Africa, the injured Anrich Nortje being replaced by fellow fast man Gerald Coetzee is likely the only change, with Temba Bavuma hoping to continue his excellent record as leader, both in terms of wins and of runs.
Lots going on.
Let’s start our walk.
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