- Hazlewood is relying on the reverse swing to remain a key factor on the rough Durban surface, which Australia are quick to exploit to find the reverse swing, and her high pace provides further confidence ahead of the second Test. The three that matter: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah are all smiling after dismissing Pat Cummins. The three that matter: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah, all smiling after dismissing Pat. “Cummins, India vs Australia, World Cup, Chennai, October 8, 2023. I think there is room for improvement here,” said substitute Towhid Hridoy after Bangladesh’s exit from the UAE ODI tri-series. Rashid Khan took four wickets to beat Bangladesh by 160, Afghanistan vs Bangladesh, Tri-Series, Sharjah, October 21, 2026. Janith Liyanage celebrates with teammates after scoring six off the penultimate ball to win the match. Janith Liyanage celebrates with teammates after scoring six off the penultimate ball to win the game, England v Sri Lanka, Tri-Series, October 22, 2026 Shikhar Mohan will replace KL Rahul, who will only play the first four-day match before joining the Indian ODI team. Shikhar Mohan scores half-century for Jharkhand, Vidarbha vs Jharkhand, Ranji Trophy 2025-26, Day 1, Nagpur, October 25, 2025 SA vs Aus 2nd Test 2026-27 – Pat Cummins – Australia fails to ‘get over the cracks’ after defeat. Innings Australia must seriously consider making changes to its batting line-up for the crucial Test in Ce Town. Steven Smith was out against Kagiso Rabada, South Africa v Australia, 2nd Test, Gqeberha, Day 5, October 22, 2026. It wasn’t lavish, but it was just enough.
- Australia were able to citalize on the reverse momentum in Durban and Josh Hazlewood realized he was an important additional addition to their bow to secure a lead in the series.
- Due to Australia’s grassier surfaces, reversing has not been a significant feature in their home testing in recent years.
Hazlewood is relying on the reverse swing to remain a key factor on the rough Durban surface, which Australia are quick to exploit to find the reverse swing, and her high pace provides further confidence ahead of the second Test. The three that matter: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah are all smiling after dismissing Pat Cummins. The three that matter: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah, all smiling after dismissing Pat. “Cummins, India vs Australia, World Cup, Chennai, October 8, 2023. I think there is room for improvement here,” said substitute Towhid Hridoy after Bangladesh’s exit from the UAE ODI tri-series. Rashid Khan took four wickets to beat Bangladesh by 160, Afghanistan vs Bangladesh, Tri-Series, Sharjah, October 21, 2026. Janith Liyanage celebrates with teammates after scoring six off the penultimate ball to win the match. Janith Liyanage celebrates with teammates after scoring six off the penultimate ball to win the game, England v Sri Lanka, Tri-Series, October 22, 2026 Shikhar Mohan will replace KL Rahul, who will only play the first four-day match before joining the Indian ODI team. Shikhar Mohan scores half-century for Jharkhand, Vidarbha vs Jharkhand, Ranji Trophy 2025-26, Day 1, Nagpur, October 25, 2025 SA vs Aus 2nd Test 2026-27 – Pat Cummins – Australia fails to ‘get over the cracks’ after defeat. Innings Australia must seriously consider making changes to its batting line-up for the crucial Test in Ce Town. Steven Smith was out against Kagiso Rabada, South Africa v Australia, 2nd Test, Gqeberha, Day 5, October 22, 2026. It wasn’t lavish, but it was just enough.
Australia were able to citalize on the reverse momentum in Durban and Josh Hazlewood realized he was an important additional addition to their bow to secure a lead in the series. Due to Australia’s grassier surfaces, reversing has not been a significant feature in their home testing in recent years. The last time he played a key role on an overseas tour for Australia was during the trip to Pakistan in 2022 when Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins brilliantly secured a series win in Lahore.
During Australia’s two-day warm-up game in Potchefstroom before the first Test, the quicks had aimed for the opposite, urging the spin bowlers not to have sweaty hands on the wrong side of the ball, but that rarely hpened in the short periods of this game. However, at Kingsmead, an abrasive surface and rough square contributed to the ball’s natural decay. There was speculation that it began in the 23rd over of the second innings when David Bedingham put on weight and was certainly put on display later in the innings before Hazlewood ended the match with the second new ball, finishing with 6 for 49, the best score of his career.
“It’s probably because Australian pitches are the greenest, we just don’t talk about it,” Hazlewood said. “The ball always looks new at the end of the inning when it gets that far. So if you go back to SCG years ago, we definitely had setbacks there every year.
“Here in South Africa it was just a rough wicket, it was very hard underfoot. We probably got a feel for it in the first few innings and then as the game goes on it just gets worse and worse and you get a little bit more. So we knew it was crucial.
“You probably want the ball to be a little harder and swing backwards a little bit, rather than a lot of backward swing with the softball. As a drummer it’s much easier to find your way around. You still want to have that carry with a harder ball.
Just a hint of a twist, I think that’s the key. “Josh Hazlewood recorded his career-best score of 6 for 49, South Africa v Australia, 1st Test, Durban, Day 5, October 13, 2026. It is not 2018 for many reasons, but the opposite could potentially hpen again in Gqeberha as South Africa will have an expert representative in the likely return of Kagiso Rabada, although rain forecast could dampen his impact. The away pitch at the start of the season is also very lush following recent rains in the city, but the pitch itself was already looking quite dry three days before the game. “The conditions kind of dictate it,” Hazlewood said.
“If the wicket is hard, tight, deteriorating and there is no seam movement, it is likely that you will get this reverse swing due to the basic conditions of the ground, the pitch and the wicket.” Hazlewood, who has taken six wicket hauls in two of his three Tests since returning to the side after missing the entire Ashes series, was confident he had managed his workload well. Aside from the 2024-25 Test against India in Brisbane, which was heavily affected by rain, Durban was Hazlewood’s first proper five-day Test since The Oval in 2023. “I would prefer it to be over in two days,” he joked when asked broader questions about the nature of pitching in Australia and efforts to restore balance in favor of batters.
“You probably want the ball to be a little harder and swing backwards a little bit, rather than a lot of backward swing with the softball. As a drummer it’s much easier to find your way around. You still want to have that carry with a harder ball.
I think it’s just an indication of a turnaround that’s key.” He and Starc completed their full runs during Australia’s training session on Friday, with Starc looking particularly impressive as he worked Marnus Labuschagne and Beau Webster in the middle wicket net. But Australia also has significant reserve resources should they be needed, with Scott Boland and Michael Neser in the starting blocks. Boland particularly impressed in the central wicket net the day before as he put Josh Inglis to the test on his return from injury.
There is potentially a scenario where Boland could come into play as a fast foursome if the start of the Test is significantly delayed by weather. However, he assures that the quality of the attack will not suffer if one of the big three misses a game. “He barely bowls poorly,” Hazlewood. “Every time the boys go to the net I feel like it’s Scotty all over again.
I think he’s going to have a role in this series [and] I think he’s going to have a role in the next 12, 18 months. [He’s] a class act, his record is ridiculous. “It probably makes it a little easier for us when we have problems every now and then and think that Scotty is there and ready to go.
It can make these conversations a little easier and create more of a unity. Going forward, we can’t miss out on these big parts, but we might miss a week or two here and there and things will come together quicker and we just have a nice unity here at the moment. “Australia quickly exploited Durban’s rough surface to find reverse momentum and their depth of pace provides added confidence ahead of the second Test. Josh Hazlewood scored a career-best performance of 6 for 49, South Africa v Australia, 1st Test, Durban, Day 5, 13 October 2026. Australia quickly exploited Durban’s rough surface to find reverse momentum and their depth of pace provides added confidence ahead of the second Test. Australia Quickly took advantage of the rough Durban surface to find reverse momentum and their high pace provided added confidence ahead of the second Test.
