Australia add Maddinson and Harper to their Test squad in South Africa as injuries mount

Australia have added Nic Maddinson and Sam Harper to their Test squad in South Africa, with Josh Inglis ruled out of the first Test and Cameron Green's fitness still unresolved

The two batters join a touring party that has been picked apart by injury since the one-day leg began, and they arrive with Pat Cummins' side already into the red-ball half of the trip.

Josh Inglis will miss the opening Test with a fractured right finger and is not expected back before the second, so Harper comes in as wicketkeeping cover.

Cameron Green suffered a lower abdominal strain in the third one-day international in Potchefstroom and will be assessed through the coming week, with Maddinson added to give the selectors another batting option.

Cover behind the stumps

Chief selector George Bailey framed both additions as insurance rather than disruption. "Sam gives us wicketkeeping cover as Josh continues his recovery while Nic provides flexibility throughout the batting order," he said.

Harper, 29, has never been part of an Australia squad before. Alex Carey remains the senior keeper in the party and would take the gloves at Kingsmead with Inglis unavailable.

Inglis broke the finger in the first match of the one-day series, an injury that has now cost him the start of a Test tour he began as a selection contender.

Green's abdomen under assessment

Green's strain was confirmed by scans after the final one-dayer, and the squad is hopeful he will be available for the series opener. The greater doubt is over his bowling, which he has not done in a match at any point on this tour.

Matthew Renshaw was cleared of damage after being hit on the hand in the field during the same match, sparing Australia a third casualty in a week.

If Green cannot play, the all-round work falls to Beau Webster, who joined the tour after a lean Top End series of 12, 5 and 0 without a wicket. "I'm just trying to get myself ready and get myself at a point ready to go when we turn up to Durban in that first Test," he said.

Webster played the run of scores down. "That's what it was – three hits and not many runs is a little speed bump," he said, having made 73 not out and taken three wickets in the final Ashes Test.

A decade between Test caps

Maddinson, 34, last played a Test on Boxing Day in 2016, and the decade since has taken in a move between states, treatment for testicular cancer in 2025 and a season in which he did not play first-class cricket at all.

His recall follows 126 from 127 balls in the One-Day Cup, an innings that put him back in front of selectors who need middle-order batters able to cover more than one position.

He is one of several options should Green be unavailable, alongside Cooper Connolly and Webster.

Harper's Shield summer earns a call

Harper's promotion is built on volume. He made 677 runs in last season's Sheffield Shield for Victoria, a career best, and has carried the form into this one.

His 128 from 223 balls against India A this week was his fourth score beyond 90 in eight innings, a run of consistency that left the selectors with an obvious name when Inglis was ruled out.

Two days in Potchefstroom

Australia are playing a two-day warm-up against a Cricket South Africa Invitation XI at Senwes Park before the Tests begin, and chose to field after winning the toss.

The Invitation XI had reached 79 for 2 from 25 overs on the opening day, with Australia using the match to give their bowlers overs in South African conditions.

It is the only red-ball cricket the tourists will play before Durban, and the first time they have toured South Africa for a Test series since 2018.

The first Test starts at Kingsmead in Durban on October 9, with the second in Gqeberha from October 18 and the third at Newlands from October 27.

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