De Kock and Ellis headline South Africa-Australia second ODI showdown at the Wanderers
The Bullring is set to roar again. South Africa and Australia renew one of cricket's most evenly matched rivalries in the second one-day international of their three-match series at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg on Sunday, September 27, 2026, with play scheduled to begin at 1:30 PM. The fixture is part of Australia's tour of South Africa in 2026, and with the hosts sitting third and the visitors fourth in the ODI rankings, the contest promises to be every bit as tight as their historical record suggests.
Match details
- Match: South Africa vs Australia, 2nd ODI
- Series: Australia tour of South Africa, 3-ODI series, 2026
- Date: September 27, 2026
- Start time: 1:30 PM
- Venue: The Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg
- Broadcast: Eurosport
- Live streaming: FanCode
The match centre listed the encounter as 'Match Yet To Begin' ahead of the scheduled start, with fans able to follow the action on Eurosport and stream it live on FanCode.
Head-to-head: a rivalry too close to call
Few ODI rivalries are as finely balanced. The two sides have met 114 times in the 50-over format, with South Africa holding the slight edge at 58 wins to Australia's 52, while the remaining matches ended without a result. The world rankings underline just how level this contest is: the Proteas sit third in the ODI rankings, just one place above fourth-placed Australia.
Form guide: winning records on both sides
Both teams arrive at the Bullring with positive results over the past 12 months. South Africa have won six of their 10 ODIs in the last year for a win percentage of 60.00, while Australia have claimed seven of their 13 matches at 53.85 percent.
| Team | Played | Won | Lost | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Africa | 10 | 6 | 4 | 60.00% |
| Australia | 13 | 7 | 6 | 53.85% |
Players to watch
Quinton de Kock has been South Africa's most prolific batter over the past year, piling up 367 runs, while all-rounder Corbin Bosch leads the hosts' wicket charts with 10 scalps. Australia's dangermen are just as clear: Cooper Connolly has been the tourists' standout with the bat, amassing 459 runs in the period, and Nathan Ellis has been a wicket-taking machine with 23 dismissals — comfortably the most of any bowler on either side.
Squads
South Africa
- David Miller (batsman)
- Temba Bavuma (batsman)
- Tony de Zorzi (batsman)
- Matthew Breetzke (batsman)
- Quinton de Kock (wicketkeeper)
- Ryan Rickelton (wicketkeeper)
- Tristan Stubbs (wicketkeeper)
- Corbin Bosch (all-rounder)
- Aiden Markram (all-rounder)
- Marco Jansen (all-rounder)
- Keshav Maharaj (bowler)
- Lizaad Williams (bowler)
- Bjorn Fortuin (bowler)
- Gerald Coetzee (bowler)
- Duan Jansen (bowler)
- Nqobani Mokoena (bowler)
Australia
- Mitchell Marsh (batsman)
- Travis Head (batsman)
- Oliver Peake (batsman)
- Alex Carey (wicketkeeper)
- Josh Inglis (wicketkeeper)
- Matt Renshaw (all-rounder)
- Cameron Green (all-rounder)
- Jack Edwards (all-rounder)
- Cooper Connolly (all-rounder)
- Joel Davies (all-rounder)
- Josh Hazlewood (bowler)
- Mitchell Starc (bowler)
- Pat Cummins (bowler)
- Adam Zampa (bowler)
- Xavier Bartlett (bowler)
- Nathan Ellis (bowler)
With two of the three ODIs still to be played, momentum in the series will be firmly up for grabs when the teams walk out at Johannesburg's famous Bullring on Saturday evening into Sunday's daytime action — and given 58-52 head-to-head and back-to-back world rankings, don't expect anything to be decided easily.