England travel to South Africa for a three-Test series starting in December, with a home Ashes on the horizon next summer. So what can they glean from Australia's 214-run win in Durban to open the South African series?
The Proteas looked short of a gallop, as a result. It's nearly a year since they last played Test cricket, an impressive 2-0 series win in India, and this represented their first home Test since winning the World Test Championship final against Australia at Lord's in June 2025. There were encouraging contributions from Aiden Markram, whose 237-ball innings in the second innings was an ultimately futile attempt to bat out for a draw, and David Bedingham, who did well with a couple of 40s at No 3. But South Africa threw away numerous starts in the first innings, with six players scoring at least 30 without kicking on, as they surrendered a 106-run deficit. Captain Temba Bavuma managed just four runs across his two innings.
The key question is whether this points to deeper problems or simply reflects a rusty return to Test cricket. England should have their answer before their first Test in Johannesburg on December 17, as the hosts play two more Tests against Australia and a two-match series against Bangladesh in November to get up to speed.
Matt Renshaw may have cemented a middle-order spot for Australia for the foreseeable future. His first-innings, career-best 190 was the highlight, backed by 82 in the second innings and a couple of wickets with his part-time off-spin. He rescued Australia from 124-6 on day one, and Australia posted 390 deep into day two and never looked back.
If Renshaw has grabbed the No 5 position, questions remain about the rest of the batting line-up. Travis Head previously owned that spot before moving up to open midway through the last Ashes, where he hit three hundreds in winning causes at Perth, Adelaide and Sydney. However, he has not passed 22 in his three Test appearances since.
Source: Sky Sports Champions League · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing