South Africa name squad for 2nd Test against Australia, Matthew Breetzke replaces Tristan Stubbs

South Africa have announced a 17-member squad for the second Test against Australia, beginning on Sunday (Oct 18) in Gqeberha, with Matthew Breetzke replacing Tristan Stubbs and Ryan Rickelton expected to take over wicketkeeping duties. The changes could allow South Africa to add another specialist batter to their playing XI as they look to improve their batting after a disappointing performance in the first Test.

Left-handed batter Tony de Zorzi remains unavailable as he continues to recover from a left hamstring injury.

Meanwhile, fast bowler Kagiso Rabada could return to the playing XI after missing the series opener. His comeback would strengthen South Africa’s bowling attack as they aim to bounce back from their 214-run defeat in Durban and level the series in Gqeberha.

Stubbs was the only player dropped after the opening Test, having scored 32 runs in the first innings and just one in the second, following a promising 94 in his previous Test innings against India nearly 11 months ago.

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Breetzke has been brought in as his replacement. The batter has played two Tests for South Africa, making his debut against Bangladesh in Oct 2024 before featuring against Zimbabwe in Jul 2025. However, he has scored only 14 runs across those two appearances.

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With a first-class batting average of 37.03, Breetzke will be keen to make the most of this opportunity.

South Africa squad: 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 and Kyle Verreynne