DURBAN, South Africa, September 24, 2026: Mitchell Marsh had launched Australia to 90 without loss in fewer than ten overs, South Africa’s depleted pace attack was leaking boundaries, and a chase of 298 was rapidly beginning to look smaller than it had at the innings break.
Then Temba Bavuma changed the match.
He turned to Keshav Maharaj. Marsh, having battered 60 from 36 balls with five fours and six sixes, drove the left-arm spinner toward cover. Matthew Breetzke completed a sharp low catch.
One wicket became a tactical opening.
South Africa attacked it.
Australia, instead of rebuilding after losing the man who had dictated the first ten overs, kept offering chances. Travis Head miscued into the deep. Josh Inglis attempted a reverse sweep. Cooper Connolly went after Bjorn Fortuin and found David Miller at long-on. Cameron Green and debutant Jack Edwards followed against Maharaj.
A chase that had begun at a breathtaking pace became a procession of avoidable dismissals.
South Africa bowled Australia out for 230 in 41.2 overs, winning the first ODI at Kingsmead by 67 runs after recovering from 29/2 earlier in the day to post 297/8. Matthew Breetzke’s 112 and Marco Jansen’s 75 built the total. Maharaj’s 4/20 and Bjorn Fortuin’s 2/34 destroyed the chase. South Africa’s fielders repeatedly converted pressure into wickets. SuperSport
For a team that entered the series without Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Ottneil Baartman and Kwena Maphaka, all unavailable through hamstring injuries, this was more than an opening victory.
It was evidence that South Africa could lose a large part of their preferred fast-bowling attack, alter the structure of their XI, absorb an Australian assault and still find another way to win. SuperSport
For Australia, the lesson was less comfortable.
Their Zimbabwe whitewash had restored some confidence after recent ODI series defeats, including the historic loss to Bangladesh and a 2-1 defeat in Pakistan. Durban provided a much harder examination against one of the teams they may have to beat in these conditions at the 2027 ODI World Cup. Cricket Australia
They failed it.
TL;DR
- South Africa recovered from 29/2 to make 297/8.
- Matthew Breetzke scored a superb 112 from 106 balls.
- Marco Jansen counterattacked with 75 from 59 balls.
- Australia raced to 90/0 in 9.2 overs.
- Mitchell Marsh smashed 60 from 36 balls, including six sixes.
- Keshav Maharaj removed Marsh and transformed the chase.
- Australia lost their final nine wickets for 140 runs after Marsh fell, and went from 129/1 to 230 all out.
- Maharaj finished with 4/20 from 9.2 overs.
- Bjorn Fortuin took 2/34.
- Jansen took four catches, including a spectacular one-handed diving catch to remove Matt Renshaw.
- South Africa won by 67 runs and lead the three-match series 1-0.
- Breetzke was named Player of the Match. SuperSport
South Africa vs Australia 1st ODI: Match at a Glance
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Match | South Africa vs Australia, 1st ODI |
| Series | Australia tour of South Africa 2026 |
| Date | September 24, 2026 |
| Venue | Kingsmead, Durban |
| Toss | Australia won the toss and fielded |
| South Africa | 297/8 in 50 overs |
| Australia | 230 all out in 41.2 overs |
| Result | South Africa won by 67 runs |
| Player of the Match | Matthew Breetzke |
| South Africa top scorer | Matthew Breetzke, 112 |
| Australia top scorer | Mitchell Marsh, 60 |
| Best South Africa bowling | Keshav Maharaj, 4/20 |
| Best Australia bowling | Nathan Ellis, 3/57 |
| Series position | South Africa lead 1-0 |
| Next ODI | September 27, Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg |
South Africa’s official schedule confirms Johannesburg hosts the second ODI before the series concludes in Potchefstroom on September 30. Cricket South Africa
Australia Had the Match Exactly Where They Wanted It
Mitchell Marsh won the toss and sent South Africa in.
It was the logical call.
The morning Kingsmead surface offered enough assistance for Australia’s experienced pace attack to make the decision immediately look correct. Josh Hazlewood removed Tony de Zorzi for a duck. Nathan Ellis struck with his first delivery to dismiss Quinton de Kock for 14.
South Africa were 29/2 after 7.1 overs.
Temba Bavuma later admitted that South Africa would probably have bowled first as well had the toss gone their way. With morning movement available and Australia fielding Mitchell Starc, Hazlewood and Ellis, the hosts had been forced into the more difficult half of the conditions. IOL
For a side already missing four important quicks, an early batting collapse could have made the injury crisis feel even larger.
Breetzke prevented that.
Matthew Breetzke Builds the Innings South Africa Needed
Matthew Breetzke’s 112 from 106 balls was not simply another century.
It solved several different problems during the same innings.
He arrived with South Africa under pressure at 29/2. Bavuma was trying to stabilize the innings. Australia’s quicks were controlling the tempo. The wicket was more difficult than it would become later.
Breetzke first accepted the pace of the game.
He and Bavuma added 54. After Bavuma fell for 30, Breetzke rebuilt again with Ryan Rickelton.
Rickelton’s 27 briefly increased the tempo, but his dismissal at 125/4 and David Miller’s laborious nine from 25 balls left South Africa at 168/5 after 33.5 overs.
At that point, 250 was not guaranteed.
Breetzke was still there.
His century came from 100 balls and continued a remarkable beginning to his ODI career. He eventually finished with 14 fours and two sixes before Cooper Connolly’s excellent throw ran him out in the 48th over. NDTV Sports
The innings also continued a productive period for South Africa’s developing ODI batting pool. TSE has tracked that progression through Jordan Hermann’s 150 against Namibia and the subsequent series-clinching win over Namibia.
Breetzke now belongs firmly in that World Cup conversation.
Marco Jansen Changes the Ceiling of the Innings
Breetzke prevented the innings from breaking.
Marco Jansen changed what South Africa could score.
The pair added 107 for the sixth wicket, transforming 168/5 into a position from which South Africa could think about 300 rather than survival. Daily Kiran
Jansen made 75 from 59 balls, hitting seven fours and four sixes.
That distinction is important.
Breetzke had absorbed the hardest part of the innings. Jansen arrived late enough to attack but early enough that his aggression could fundamentally change the target.
The final score of 297/8 was almost 130 runs beyond the position from which Breetzke and Jansen came together.
South Africa had not merely recovered.
They had created a target that would require Australia to sustain attacking cricket for considerably longer than ten overs.
That eventually became decisive.
Mitchell Marsh Makes 298 Look Almost Routine
For 9.2 overs, Australia appeared to have solved everything.
Marsh and Travis Head put on 90 from 56 balls.
Marsh was brutal.
He struck five fours and six sixes in his 36-ball 60. One of those sixes off Jansen traveled 104 meters, cleared the dressing-room roof and reportedly landed near the roadway outside the ground. WRAL News
Australia had 90 without loss.
South Africa had been 40/2 after their own first ten overs.
The contrast was extraordinary.
Australia were not merely ahead of the required rate. They were threatening to remove the rate from the contest altogether.
South Africa’s seamers had taken severe punishment. Jansen and Corbin Bosch conceded heavily during the opening assault.
The obvious response might have been to continue searching for wickets with pace.
Bavuma went the other way.
Temba Bavuma’s Best Decision: Trust the Bowlers Australia Had Not Dominated
South Africa’s injury crisis had forced them to consider a structure they rarely use at home: two specialist left-arm spinners.
Before the match, Bavuma had spoken openly about needing to adapt to the absence of Rabada, Ngidi, Baartman and Maphaka.
He selected Maharaj and Fortuin together.
At 90/0, that adaptation became the winning strategy. The National
Maharaj did not try to defeat Marsh with pace or bounce.
He changed the rhythm.
Marsh attacked a full delivery outside off and drove aerially toward cover. Breetzke dived forward and completed the catch.
Australia were 90/1.
Maharaj’s first spell brought 1/13 from four overs after South Africa’s fast bowlers had been dismantled. Daily News N Blog –
The value of Bavuma’s captaincy was not simply bringing on a spinner.
It was recognizing that the conditions and match state had changed.
Australia had become comfortable hitting through and over pace.
South Africa gave them slower bowling, different angles and fielders positioned where the aggressive strokes were likely to travel.
The Australians kept accepting the invitation.
Australia’s Reckless Middle Order Gives South Africa a Route Back
Marsh’s dismissal did not leave Australia in difficulty.
They were still 90/1 chasing 298.
Head and Cooper Connolly pushed the total to 129.
That should have been the point at which Australia restarted the chase.
Instead, they continued treating every phase as an extension of the powerplay.
Head made 36 before miscuing Jansen.
Josh Inglis attempted a reverse sweep against Fortuin and was caught for three.
Connolly, having made a useful 38, slog-swept Fortuin toward long-on. Miller slid across the turf and held the catch.
Then Maharaj removed Cameron Green and Jack Edwards.
Australia had gone from 129/1 to 188/6. CricTracker
The striking part was how few of those dismissals required an unplayable delivery.
SuperSport’s report described the wickets as a sequence of careless strokes: Head’s leading edge, Inglis’ failed reverse sweep, Connolly’s attack into the deep and Green and Edwards both finding fielders. SuperSport
That is where Australia lost the game.
Not at 90/1.
Not because Maharaj suddenly made the pitch impossible.
They lost control because they never fully acknowledged that Marsh’s dismissal had changed what responsible batting required.
Keshav Maharaj Turns the Match Without Chasing Wickets
Maharaj’s final figures tell the story:
9.2 overs, 2 maidens, 20 runs, 4 wickets.
Economy rate: 2.14.
In an innings where Australia had scored 90 inside ten overs, those numbers are extraordinary. CricTracker
His wickets were Marsh, Green, Edwards and Adam Zampa.
Yet his larger contribution came through control.
Once Australia’s early assault ended, Maharaj denied them the easy boundary release that had defined the powerplay. Fortuin did the same from the other end.
Between them, South Africa’s two left-arm spinners took six wickets for 54 runs. IOL
The irony is difficult to miss.
South Africa entered the match worrying about having lost four fast bowlers.
They won because their spinners became the center of the attack.
Bjorn Fortuin Punishes Australia’s Refusal to Reset
Fortuin’s 2/34 from eight overs complemented Maharaj perfectly.
He removed Inglis and Connolly.
Both wickets reflected the same broader problem.
Australia were still looking for boundary options when simple accumulation would have preserved wickets and kept the chase comfortably within reach.
At 129/2, the asking rate was still modest.
At 156/4 after Connolly’s dismissal, South Africa could finally see pressure on the scoreboard as well as in the field.
Fortuin’s job was not to bowl magic balls.
It was to make Australia generate their own risk.
They did.
South Africa’s Fielding Was a Genuine Match-Winning Weapon
The bowling figures will dominate the scorecard.
South Africa’s fielding deserves almost equal credit.
Breetzke’s low catch at cover ended Marsh’s assault.
Miller’s sliding catch at long-on removed Connolly.
Jansen caught Inglis at slip.
He also held Edwards.
Then came the moment that effectively finished Australia’s last meaningful resistance.
Matt Renshaw had fought to 44 and was trying to shepherd the lower order. Gerald Coetzee dropped short. Renshaw pulled toward deep midwicket.
Jansen launched himself to his right and completed a spectacular one-handed catch near the boundary.
Australia were 215/7. Flashscore
Jansen finished with four catches in addition to his 75 and the wicket of Head. Daily News N Blog –
That is the kind of all-round contribution that disappears if the match is reduced to batting and bowling figures.
South Africa created chances.
Then they finished them.
Renshaw Tries to Repair What the Middle Order Broke
Matt Renshaw made 44 from 49 balls.
By then, his role had changed completely.
He had entered a chase built on Marsh’s aggression.
He ended up attempting to rescue one damaged by everybody else’s impatience.
Renshaw and Starc briefly reduced the equation. Fourteen runs came from one Jansen over.
South Africa answered with pressure.
Maharaj bowled a maiden.
The next two overs produced only two runs.
Coetzee then delivered another maiden.
The required rate, which had barely mattered during Marsh’s assault, began to climb again. Daily News N Blog –
Renshaw tried to break the squeeze.
Jansen ended it with the catch of the match.
The final four wickets fell for 15 runs.
Australia were all out for 230.
Matthew Breetzke Is the Player of the Match
Breetzke received the official Player of the Match award for his 112 from 106 balls. Geo Super
Maharaj’s 4/20 made a compelling alternative case, and Jansen produced perhaps the broadest performance of the day.
But Breetzke’s innings was the foundation.
Without it, South Africa might have been defending 230 rather than 297.
He survived the period when Australia’s fast bowlers had conditions in their favor, rebuilt after three separate wickets and was still batting when Jansen arrived to change the tempo.
The scorecard gives him 112.
The match context gives him considerably more.
Why This Win Matters More Than an Ordinary 1-0 Series Lead
South Africa had every excuse available before the first ball.
Rabada was out.
Ngidi was out.
Baartman was out.
Maphaka was out.
Four frontline pace options were unavailable with hamstring injuries. SuperSport
The injury situation forced Bavuma and the South African management to think differently.
They selected two specialist spinners at home.
That pairing won them the match.
This matters with the 2027 World Cup approaching because tournaments rarely allow teams to preserve an ideal XI from opening match to final.
Depth becomes strategy.
Adaptability becomes selection.
South Africa showed both.
TSE had already highlighted the squad challenge when Bavuma’s ODI group for the Australia series was announced. The opening ODI produced a much stronger answer than the injury list suggested was likely.
South Africa’s Hold Over Australia in ODIs Is Becoming Difficult to Ignore
This result also fits a much larger pattern.
Before the current series, South Africa had won the previous five bilateral ODI series against Australia, dating back to 2016.
Australia’s last bilateral ODI series victory over South Africa came in 2014. Cricket Australia
The sequence:
- South Africa won 5-0 in 2016
- South Africa won 2-1 in Australia in 2018
- South Africa won 3-0 in 2020
- South Africa won 3-2 in 2023
- South Africa won 2-1 in Australia in 2025
Now South Africa lead the 2026 series 1-0.
That history does not decide the next match.
It does explain why this matchup has become uncomfortable for Australia.
South Africa repeatedly find ways to disrupt them in ODI cricket, whether through pace, spin, middle-order power or pressure.
Durban simply added another method.
Australia’s Zimbabwe Sweep Did Not Answer the Harder Questions
Australia came into this series with three straight wins in Zimbabwe.
That matters.
Their 3-0 sweep concluded with Josh Inglis and Nathan Ellis surviving a tense final ODI, while Travis Head and Adam Zampa had sealed the series in the second game.
But TSE had already asked whether that tour would answer Australia’s larger 2027 World Cup questions.
Durban suggests the answer is still incomplete.
Zimbabwe gave Australia useful ODI repetitions.
South Africa gave them pressure against a side with stronger bowling variety, better fielding and deeper tactical options.
Before Zimbabwe, Australia had lost their first ODI series to Bangladesh, falling 2-0 behind before salvaging the final match, and had also lost 2-1 to Pakistan earlier in 2026. Cricket Australia
The problem is therefore not that Australia cannot win ODI matches.
They clearly can.
The concern is whether their new-look batting order can consistently make good decisions when elite opponents change the terms of a chase.
At Kingsmead, it did not.
The 2027 World Cup Test Has Already Started
Australia can reasonably treat the next year as experimentation.
Several established ODI-era names are gone. Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis have left ODI cricket, while selectors are testing different combinations around Marsh, Head, Green, Connolly, Renshaw and Inglis.
TSE explored that transition in How Australia’s Ageing Problem Puts the Next Generation Under Pressure.
South Africa is precisely the place where that reconstruction should be tested.
The 2027 World Cup will be hosted across South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia. Conditions, surfaces, travel and local bowling strategies will matter. Reuters
Australia therefore did not simply lose a bilateral ODI in Durban.
They encountered a possible World Cup scenario:
A target around 300.
A fast start.
A change to spin.
A slowing surface.
Athletic fielders protecting the boundary.
A need to preserve wickets while keeping the asking rate manageable.
Those are the situations World Cups are won by solving.
Australia solved the first ten overs.
South Africa solved everything that followed.
Complete Match Scorecard
South Africa Batting: 297/8 in 50 Overs
| Batter | Dismissal | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quinton de Kock | c Inglis b Ellis | 14 | 18 | 1 | 1 | 77.78 |
| Tony de Zorzi | c Renshaw b Hazlewood | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Temba Bavuma (c) | c Inglis b Zampa | 30 | 48 | 4 | 0 | 62.50 |
| Matthew Breetzke | run out (Connolly/Inglis) | 112 | 106 | 14 | 2 | 105.66 |
| Ryan Rickelton | c Renshaw b Zampa | 27 | 26 | 4 | 0 | 103.85 |
| David Miller | c & b Ellis | 9 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 36.00 |
| Marco Jansen | lbw b Ellis | 75 | 59 | 7 | 4 | 127.12 |
| Corbin Bosch | Not out | 9 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 150.00 |
| Gerald Coetzee | run out (Inglis) | 6 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 150.00 |
| Bjorn Fortuin | Not out | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Keshav Maharaj | Did not bat | |||||
| Extras | 6 lb, 8 wides | 14 | ||||
| Total | 8 wickets, 50 overs | 297 |
Fall of wickets: 6/1 (de Zorzi, 3.1), 29/2 (de Kock, 7.1), 83/3 (Bavuma, 18.1), 125/4 (Rickelton, 24.3), 168/5 (Miller, 33.5), 275/6 (Breetzke, 47.2), 289/7 (Jansen, 49.0), 296/8 (Coetzee, 49.5). NDTV Sports
Australia Bowling
| Bowler | Overs | Maidens | Runs | Wickets | Economy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mitchell Starc | 10 | 0 | 60 | 0 | 6.00 |
| Josh Hazlewood | 10 | 2 | 50 | 1 | 5.00 |
| Nathan Ellis | 10 | 0 | 57 | 3 | 5.70 |
| Jack Edwards | 10 | 0 | 56 | 0 | 5.60 |
| Adam Zampa | 7 | 0 | 50 | 2 | 7.14 |
| Cooper Connolly | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7.00 |
| Matt Renshaw | 2 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 5.50 |
Australia Batting: 230 All Out in 41.2 Overs
| Batter | Dismissal | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mitchell Marsh (c) | c Breetzke b Maharaj | 60 | 36 | 5 | 6 | 166.67 |
| Travis Head | c Miller b Jansen | 36 | 37 | 5 | 0 | 97.30 |
| Cooper Connolly | c Miller b Fortuin | 38 | 42 | 4 | 1 | 90.48 |
| Josh Inglis (wk) | c Jansen b Fortuin | 3 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 37.50 |
| Matt Renshaw | c Jansen b Coetzee | 44 | 49 | 6 | 0 | 89.80 |
| Cameron Green | c Breetzke b Maharaj | 5 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 50.00 |
| Jack Edwards | c Jansen b Maharaj | 5 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 33.33 |
| Mitchell Starc | c Jansen b Bosch | 16 | 27 | 2 | 0 | 59.26 |
| Nathan Ellis | b Bosch | 4 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 40.00 |
| Adam Zampa | c Breetzke b Maharaj | 7 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 46.67 |
| Josh Hazlewood | Not out | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Extras | 4 b, 1 lb, 6 wides, 1 no-ball | 12 | ||||
| Total | All out, 41.2 overs | 230 |
Fall of wickets: 90/1 (Marsh, 9.2), 129/2 (Head, 16.1), 134/3 (Inglis, 17.6), 156/4 (Connolly, 21.6), 176/5 (Green, 25.2), 188/6 (Edwards, 29.3), 215/7 (Renshaw, 36.2), 221/8 (Starc, 38.1), 230/9 (Ellis, 40.6), 230/10 (Zampa, 41.2). CricTracker
South Africa Bowling
| Bowler | Overs | Maidens | Runs | Wickets | Economy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marco Jansen | 7 | 0 | 64 | 1 | 9.14 |
| Gerald Coetzee | 8 | 1 | 40 | 1 | 5.00 |
| Corbin Bosch | 9 | 0 | 67 | 2 | 7.44 |
| Keshav Maharaj | 9.2 | 2 | 20 | 4 | 2.14 |
| Bjorn Fortuin | 8 | 0 | 34 | 2 | 4.25 |
Six Turning Points That Decided the First ODI
1. Australia Reduce South Africa to 29/2
Hazlewood and Ellis exploited the morning conditions and gave Australia exactly the start Marsh wanted.
2. Breetzke Survives Every Rebuild
South Africa lost partners around him, but Breetzke remained long enough to give Jansen a platform.
3. Breetzke and Jansen Add 107
At 168/5, South Africa were vulnerable. Their partnership turned the innings into a 297-run total.
4. Marsh Takes Australia to 90/0
The chase was moving at almost ten an over before Bavuma turned to Maharaj.
5. Maharaj Removes Marsh
The dismissal changed both the scoring rate and the type of cricket Australia had to play.
6. Jansen’s Catch Ends Renshaw’s Resistance
Australia still had a mathematical chance at 215/6. Jansen’s one-handed catch removed the last set batter and the final four wickets disappeared for 15.
What South Africa Should Take Into Johannesburg
The most valuable aspect of this win is not that South Africa made 297.
It is that they won after two phases in which Australia appeared to be dictating the match.
At 29/2, Australia were ahead.
At 90/0, Australia were well ahead.
South Africa responded differently each time.
Breetzke absorbed pressure with the bat.
Jansen changed the tempo.
Bavuma changed the bowling structure.
Maharaj and Fortuin changed the scoring options.
The fielders completed the wickets.
That flexibility is far more useful for a World Cup than an easy win built around one dominant player.
South Africa’s previous ODI buildup has already included a 3-0 sweep of Namibia.
Australia is a very different standard of opposition.
Winning this way, while missing four frontline fast bowlers, tells South Africa considerably more.
What Australia Must Fix Before the Second ODI
The immediate answer is not “bat more defensively.”
Australia’s aggression created a winning position.
The problem was timing.
Marsh could attack because he was seeing the ball clearly and controlling the bowlers.
Once he departed, Australia needed one partnership that reset the innings.
Instead, Head, Inglis, Connolly, Green and Edwards collectively kept searching for the next boundary before establishing control.
Australia therefore turned an excellent required-rate position into a wicket crisis.
The second ODI at the Wanderers will test whether they can separate positive batting from unnecessary risk.
Those are not the same thing.
This is also why TSE’s earlier question about Australia’s 2027 World Cup preparation remains relevant.
World Cups punish teams that repeatedly confuse aggression with control.
Durban did exactly that.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won the first ODI between South Africa and Australia in 2026?
South Africa won by 67 runs, scoring 297/8 before bowling Australia out for 230 in 41.2 overs. IOL
Who was Player of the Match?
Matthew Breetzke was Player of the Match for his 112 from 106 balls. Geo Super
How many runs did Mitchell Marsh score?
Marsh made 60 from 36 balls, hitting five fours and six sixes. CricTracker
How many wickets did Keshav Maharaj take?
Maharaj took 4/20 from 9.2 overs, including two maidens. CricTracker
What was Marco Jansen’s contribution?
Jansen scored 75 from 59 balls, took one wicket and held four catches, including a spectacular diving catch to dismiss Matt Renshaw. Daily News N Blog –
Which South African fast bowlers missed the match?
South Africa were without Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Ottneil Baartman and Kwena Maphaka, all listed as unavailable with hamstring injuries. SuperSport
How dominant have South Africa been against Australia in recent ODI series?
South Africa had won the previous five bilateral ODI series between the teams before this series began. Australia’s most recent bilateral ODI series victory over South Africa was in 2014. Cricket Australia
When is the second ODI?
The second ODI is scheduled for September 27 at the Wanderers in Johannesburg. Cricket South Africa
Why is this series important for the 2027 World Cup?
The 2027 ODI World Cup will be staged in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia, making this tour an important opportunity for Australia to test players and tactics in relevant conditions. Reuters