Anrich Nortje Ruled Out of Third Test Against Australia With Groin Injury
South Africa fast bowler Anrich Nortje will miss the series decider at Newlands with a mild groin injury picked up in the second Test in Gqeberha. He is the only change to the squad, no replacement has been named, and the series stands level at 1-1 before the Cape Town Test starts on Tuesday.
Key points
- South Africa fast bowler Anrich Nortje has been ruled out of the third and final Test against Australia with a mild groin injury, Cricket South Africa said on Saturday.
- Nortje sustained the injury while bowling during the first innings of the second Test in Gqeberha.
- The 32-year-old pulled up in his fourth over of the second Test and played no further part in the match.
South Africa fast bowler Anrich Nortje has been ruled out of the third and final Test against Australia with a mild groin injury, Cricket South Africa said on Saturday.
Nortje sustained the injury while bowling during the first innings of the second Test in Gqeberha. Scans conducted on Thursday confirmed the extent of the injury and ruled him out of the final Test, which starts at Newlands in Cape Town on Tuesday, October 27.
How the injury happened
The 32-year-old pulled up in his fourth over of the second Test and played no further part in the match. South Africa still won that Test by an innings and 31 runs on Thursday, a result that levelled the three-match series at 1-1.
Australia won the first Test in Durban by 214 runs. The Cape Town Test, which runs from October 27 to October 31, will decide the series.
No replacement named
Nortje is the only change to South Africa's squad for the third Test, and no replacement has been named for him. The squad announced for Newlands is: Temba Bavuma (captain), Marques Ackerman, David Bedingham, Corbin Bosch, Matthew Breetzke, Gerald Coetzee, Simon Harmer, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Senuran Muthusamy, Dane Paterson, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton and Kyle Verreynne.
ESPNcricinfo reported that Gerald Coetzee, Corbin Bosch and Dane Paterson will come into the conversation if South Africa want to field a quick bowler in place of Nortje in the Cape Town Test. All three are already in the named squad. Cricket South Africa gave no return date for Nortje in the announcement reported on Saturday.
A comeback cut short again
The ruling ends a short Test comeback. Nortje had only returned after a lengthy spell out of first-class cricket following a series of injuries. The Durban Test was his first Test appearance in more than three and a half years, and in it he bowled 40 overs and took two wickets in each innings.
He then broke down four overs into the second Test in Gqeberha. South Africa must now settle their pace attack for the series decider at Newlands without him, from a squad that still includes Kagiso Rabada, Marco Jansen, Coetzee, Bosch and Paterson.
Timeline
- Oct 23, 2026South Africa win the second Test in Gqeberha by an innings and 31 runs to level the series at 1-1. Nortje pulls up in his fourth over of the first innings and takes no further part. Scans on Thursday confirm the groin injury.
- Oct 24, 2026Cricket South Africa rules Nortje out of the third Test and names a 16-player squad for Newlands with Nortje as the only change and no replacement named.
- Oct 27, 2026The third and final Test starts at Newlands, Cape Town, and runs to October 31, with the series level at 1-1. Australia won the first Test in Durban by 214 runs.