- Cummins accepts change is on the cards as Australia come up short again Australia ctain takes criticism on the chin after third loss in five Tests The three who matter: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah all smiles after dismissing Pat Cummins The three who matter: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah all smiles after dismissing Pat Cummins, India vs Australia, World Cup, Chennai, October 8, 2023 In the end, we’re a lot more awesome than we are horrendous and that’s the pleasing part for me” Simon Harmer struck three times in the opening session of the final day, South Africa vs Australia, 3rd Test, Ce Town, 5th Day, October 31, 2026 Temba Bavuma described the series against Australia as “15 days of just pressure” even as SA turned a 0-1 deficit into a 2-1 win Simon Harmer struck three times in the opening session of the final day, South Africa vs Australia, 3rd Test, Ce Town, 5th Day, October 31, 2026 Kagiso Rabada acknowledges the crowd after the win, South Africa vs Australia, 3rd Test, Ce Town, 5th Day, October 31, 2026 After their heavy defeat in Durban, South Africa bounced back against Australia to claim the series and the No.1 ranking Temba Bavuma came on with a rescue job at hand, South Africa vs Australia, 3rd Test, Ce Town, 3rd Day, October 29, 2026 Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins struck in the first session, South Africa vs Australia, 1st Test, Day 3, Durban, October 11, 2026 Fakhar Zaman shone in another ODI chase, Pakistan vs Sri Lanka, ODI tri-series final, Lahore, October 31, 2026 Fakhar and Baig’s 149-run stand rescued Pakistan from 14 for 2 after Kamindu Mendis’ 131 set them 326 Fakhar Zaman brought up his 12th ODI century, Pakistan vs Sri Lanka, ODI tri-series final, Lahore, October 31, 2026 Fakhar Zaman kept the chase going with a quick knock, Pakistan vs Sri Lanka, ODI tri-series final, Lahore, October 31, 2026 India won the series 3-2, which included successfully chasing 226, youngsters stepping up under pressure, and hunting down 199 in less than 14 overs Australia ctain on where it went wrong for Australia and the potential changes in personnel going forward Australia slumped to a 176-run defeat in Ce Town to concede the series having taken a 1-0 lead in Durban.
- It was a third loss in their last five Tests (and fourth in seven back to the MCG against England last season) which has seen them relinquish the No.
- 1 spot in the rankings for the first time since May 2024 and dropped them to third in the World Test Championship table.
Cummins accepts change is on the cards as Australia come up short again Australia ctain takes criticism on the chin after third loss in five Tests The three who matter: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah all smiles after dismissing Pat Cummins The three who matter: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah all smiles after dismissing Pat Cummins, India vs Australia, World Cup, Chennai, October 8, 2023 In the end, we’re a lot more awesome than we are horrendous and that’s the pleasing part for me” Simon Harmer struck three times in the opening session of the final day, South Africa vs Australia, 3rd Test, Ce Town, 5th Day, October 31, 2026 Temba Bavuma described the series against Australia as “15 days of just pressure” even as SA turned a 0-1 deficit into a 2-1 win Simon Harmer struck three times in the opening session of the final day, South Africa vs Australia, 3rd Test, Ce Town, 5th Day, October 31, 2026 Kagiso Rabada acknowledges the crowd after the win, South Africa vs Australia, 3rd Test, Ce Town, 5th Day, October 31, 2026 After their heavy defeat in Durban, South Africa bounced back against Australia to claim the series and the No.1 ranking Temba Bavuma came on with a rescue job at hand, South Africa vs Australia, 3rd Test, Ce Town, 3rd Day, October 29, 2026 Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins struck in the first session, South Africa vs Australia, 1st Test, Day 3, Durban, October 11, 2026 Fakhar Zaman shone in another ODI chase, Pakistan vs Sri Lanka, ODI tri-series final, Lahore, October 31, 2026 Fakhar and Baig’s 149-run stand rescued Pakistan from 14 for 2 after Kamindu Mendis’ 131 set them 326 Fakhar Zaman brought up his 12th ODI century, Pakistan vs Sri Lanka, ODI tri-series final, Lahore, October 31, 2026 Fakhar Zaman kept the chase going with a quick knock, Pakistan vs Sri Lanka, ODI tri-series final, Lahore, October 31, 2026 India won the series 3-2, which included successfully chasing 226, youngsters stepping up under pressure, and hunting down 199 in less than 14 overs Australia ctain on where it went wrong for Australia and the potential changes in personnel going forward Australia slumped to a 176-run defeat in Ce Town to concede the series having taken a 1-0 lead in Durban.
It was a third loss in their last five Tests (and fourth in seven back to the MCG against England last season) which has seen them relinquish the No. 1 spot in the rankings for the first time since May 2024 and dropped them to third in the World Test Championship table. The stinging criticism of the side had already started while the final-day collse was in process, with David Warner terming it “terrible” and “un-Australian” on Kayo Sports.
“There’s no fight whatsoever, it’s disgraceful … I think it’s deplorable but the batters have let the bowlers down the whole series,” he said. When those comments were put to Cummins, he said: “I don’t even know what I make of that.” Australia’s next Test series is against New Zealand, starting on December 9 in Perth, with Marnus Labuschagne ‘s position seemingly untenable after he made 0 and 4 in Ce Town to make it 16 innings without a half-century. Steven Smith will return if he overcomes his neck injury but, if that’s a direct sw for Labuschagne, it will require another reshuffling of the batting order.
And while Australia’s attack is one of the greatest of all time, there will be scrutiny over how they laboured to bowl South Africa out in the second innings having also started poorly on the first day. Josh Inglis was run out in calamitous fashion, South Africa vs Australia, 3rd Test, Ce Town, 5th Day, October 31, 2026 “I think it’s always the case after losing a series [that changes are talked about], and it’s probably fair, we lost two games in a row,” Cummins said. “It’s fair to be asking those questions, we’ll be asking them internally as well.
We are a very good side, but I think we need to get a little bit better if we want to get back to No. so maybe that’s a change of style, maybe it’s a change of personnel in some instances. Give us a couple of weeks and work it out.” Cummins believed that bowling South Africa out for 329 on the opening day had put Australia “right ahead of the game”.
having clawed the home side back from a flying start where they were 140 without loss at lunch. At the toss, Temba Bavuma said he would have batted and, after the match, added things had worked out perfectly for his team. “I think the opportunity for us to bat first on that surface worked in our favour,” Bavuma said.
“It’s been a while since seeing a pitch on day five at Newlands turn like that. Like a lot of things you need a little bit of luck to go your way. We obviously understand the conditions.
We probably would have batted first but in saying that you still need to play proper cricket.” Cummins said: “You’re always weighing up different things. On this pitch, I think we knew it was going to be high scoring. We probably thought it was going to do a little bit more on day one than it did, but you don’t win the toss and think you’re going to bowl the opposition out for 100 or 200.” Australia felt the target of 288 was within their grasp before the start of play, with Cummins telling the broadcast that the plan was not to get too far ahead of the game.
“Obviously, it might be a little bit of spin up one end, but I think for the most part, being really confident that you can [trust] your own game that you can bat a long time here,” he told Kayo Sports. Around six hours later, he was left to explain their second major collse in four innings after the 99 all out in the first innings at St George’s Park. “[There were] a few poor decisions,” he said, echoing his views from the previous match.
“I know it was a day-five wicket but I don’t think it was drastic, there were runs to be scored out there, there was lots of balls to face. So, again, I think a few decisions that the boys would have liked back. We’ve got to get better, it’s hpened a few times, but as I said I think when we turned up we thought that chase was very achievable.
“There’s some pretty good bowlers that you’re coming up against, so you’re never going to be perfect, there’s going to be some error rate against a high-class attack that were fresh. But a lot of it was managing those tempos. That new ball was going to be a key period, that’s one of the times where it does feel like there’s a little bit of seam movement, the catchers behind that might come into the game, but if you can just get through that period, it does get a little bit easier against the quicks.
“Everyone had a little bit of a different plan. There was a bit of rough there, but perhs we overplayed the spin, we could have backed our defence a little bit longer, again those little things, you hang in there and you find a way, whereas I just think a lot of the times we just didn’t really give ourselves a chance.” Cummins admitted to regret at having seen the series slip away after Durban, given many of this side won’t return to South Africa for another Test series. “It was 1-0 up in the series.
I think we had some great moments,” he said. “Two or three days of this Test match. I don’t know when it’s on the Future Tours Programme [again] so I dare say it’s our last chance to come over here for a lot of us.
It’s one opportunity we’ve been speaking about for a long time to come and play a big series, and we weren’t good enough.” Josh Inglis was run out in calamitous fashion, South Africa vs Australia, 3rd Test, Ce Town, 5th Day, October 31, 2026 Australia ctain on where it went wrong for Australia and the potential changes in personnel going forward story: story:1560893+ SA vs Aus – Newlands Test – Cummins accepts change is on the cards as Australia come up short again
