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Australia To Return To South Africa For First Test Tour Since Sandpaper-gate

By IANS News February 23, 2026 • 16:36 PM View: 170

Cricket South Africa: Australia will tour South Africa for a landmark three-Test series in 2026-27, marking their first red-ball visit to the country since the infamous 2018 ball-tampering episode in Cape Town.

Cricket South Africa unveiled their international schedule for the 2026-27 season, confirming a marquee contest between the two most recent World Test Championship winners. The series will culminate at Newlands in Cape Town, the venue where the 2018 scandal unfolded and triggered one of the most turbulent chapters in Australian cricket history.

The tour will begin with a three-match ODI series in September, with matches slated for Durban, Johannesburg and Potchefstroom. Australia will then shift focus to the longer format, with Tests scheduled in Durban, Gqeberha and Cape Town. A warm-up fixture in Potchefstroom is also part of the itinerary. Australia are also expected to play limited-overs matches in neighbouring Zimbabwe before crossing into South Africa.

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