South Africa to host Australia for five-match ODI series in September

"The Australian men's team's first matches in South Africa since the pandemic will not be Tests, but rather an eight-game white-ball tour offering important preparation for this year's ODI World Cup," Cricket Australia said in an official statement on Friday.

The Proteas will welcome Australia for the first time since 2020, when the hosts came back from a 2-1 T20I series defeat to wrest the ODI series 3-0.

Kingsmead Stadium in Durban will host all three T20Is, with the first match to be played on August 30, before attention turns to the 50-over format from September 7 at Mangaung Oval, Bloemfontein. The ground will host the first two ODIs, before Potchefstroom, Centurion, and Johannesburg get an ODI each.

The ODI series will be crucial for both teams, as final preparations are likely to be made ahead of the Cricket World Cup, to be held in India in October-November.

South Africa are yet to qualify for the event, though they will receive the automatic qualification if Ireland fail to win three matches against Bangladesh in their upcoming Cricket World Cup Super League series.

If Ireland have an unlikely 3-0 series win then South Africa would need to travel for the Cricket World Cup Qualifier, beginning on June 18 in Zimbabwe.

"It is the start of the international season for us and it is a particularly important campaign in many respects because of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup," Cricket South Africa CEO Pholetsi Moseki said in an official statement released by CSA.

"We haven't qualified just yet, but we hope to be there and challenge the best in the world when the tournament is played in October and November," he added.

"Games and tours like these against a formidable Australia side can only do good for our Proteas Men. It is also an opportunity for coach Rob Walter and his team to keep building on the excellent work they have already done so far together," Moseki said. (ANI)