Markram mystery, raring Rabada in Proteas' second Test build-up | cricket.com.au

An absent Aiden Markram raised eyebrows at South Africa's main training session while Kagiso Rabada is firming for a return in Gqeberha

Markram mystery, raring Rabada in Proteas' second Test build-up

South Africa are hopeful Aiden Markram will play the second Test after their best-performed batter from the series opener against Australia missed their training session on Friday.

Of the Proteas' 17-player squad, Markram was the only absentee at their main hit-out less than 48 hours from the Gqeberha Test where the hosts need to win to keep the three-match series alive.

The 32-year-old left the Hundred tournament early in August, while he also missed the first ODI against Australia last month, both times due to personal reasons.

No batter this century has fared better against Australia than Markram. His average of 60.66 is the highest by anyone with more than five innings, while he added scores of 37 and 75 in Durban to a record that includes three hundreds against the Aussies.

Markram is expected to train on match eve and be right to lead a top-order that will likely feature two newcomers in Marques Ackerman and Matthew Breetzke.

Spearhead Kagiso Rabada is also firming for a return to the XI after a long bowl at high intensity on Friday afternoon, operating alongside Marco Jansen, Anrich Nortje and Wiaan Mulder in the middle of St George's Park on a pitch two across from the strip that will be used on Sunday.

The quartet peppered Breetzke and Ackerman for half an hour; the kind of workout they could expect to get against the Australian attack that bowled South Africa out for 284 and 206 at Kingsmead.

Question marks over Nortje's ability to back up a big workload (40 overs in Durban) in his first red-ball match in more than three years might have been allayed given his strong showing at training.

But he could also conceivably be the quick that makes way for Rabada if the Proteas opt for two spinners again, with Simon Harmer and Keshav Maharaj having only five wickets to show from 82 overs between them in the first Test.

"He's massive for us," Bedingham said of Rabada. "It looks like he's quick again, he's sharp.

"Even if you look back last year in the World Test Championship final, he took nine wickets against Australia.

"Against any team he plays against, he's ready. Hopefully come this next Test he takes nine or 10 wickets, that would be quite nice."

Maharaj and Harmer bowled together at training, alongside third spinner Senuran Muthusamy, and batted at the same time in adjacent nets.

The only difference between their sessions was that Harmer took part in the slips fielding drills while Maharaj took high catches.

However, Harmer may have just been filling the gap left by Markram at second slip, with Bedingham (first slip), Mulder (third) and Jansen (gully) completing the cordon.

Markram's useful off-spin may become more valuable if South Africa were to omit Harmer, a prospect that could be made more likely if rain affects the early days of the Test as is forecast.

For all of Durban's supposed suitability to slower bowlers, spinners have in fact averaged 11 runs per wicket fewer in Gqeberha Tests since 2019-20.

That the second Test's cut surface visually looked close to ready on Friday and relatively bare of live grass – possibly due to the inclement weather on the horizon – could help it live up to that reputation.

In South Africa's 2022 Test here, Maharaj and Harmer shared the fourth-innings' new ball, bowled unchanged for 23.3 overs on a late day-three, early day-four surface and walked away with all 10 Bangladesh wickets.

In Gqeberha's ensuing Test (its most recent) in 2024, Maharaj and his left-arm spinning Sri Lankan counterpart Prabath Jayasuriya took third and fourth-innings five-wicket hauls respectively.

The major caveat with all those numbers is that they came in Tests played between December and April when the Eastern Cape summer has had the chance to bake St George's wicket table.

This coming match marks not only the earliest Test cricket has been played in Gqeberha, it is also its first ever Test played in the seven-month window between mid-April and mid-November.

Qantas tour of South Africa 2026

First Test: Australia won by 214 runs

Second Test: October 18-22, St George's Park, Gqeberha, 7pm AEDT (10am local)

Third Test: October 27-31, Newlands, Cape Town, 7:30pm AEDT (10:30am local)

South Africa squad for second Test: Temba Bavuma (c), Marques Ackerman, David Bedingham, Matthew Breetzke, Corbin Bosch, Gerald Coetzee, Simon Harmer, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Senuran Muthusamy, Anrich Nortje, Dane Paterson, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Kyle Verreynne.

Australia Test squad: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cooper Connolly, Cameron Green, Sam Harper, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis (second Test onwards), Matthew Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Nic Maddinson, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster