Anrich Nortje says he will be "very excited" to wear a Test cap again after South Africa recalled him for the Australia series, with hamstring injuries wrecking the home pace attack.
"I'll be very excited if I can put my Test cap on again." That is Anrich Nortje, speaking to Cricinfo's Firdose Moonda after South Africa recalled him to their 18-man preliminary squad for the home series against Australia. It has been more than three years since his last Tests, in early 2023, and he is not a centrally contracted player. Injuries to the pace group have opened a door he may not have expected to see open.
| South Africa vs Australia, Test series | |
|---|---|
| 1st Test | Durban (Kingsmead), 9 to 13 October 2026 |
| 2nd Test | Gqeberha, 18 to 22 October 2026 |
| 3rd Test | Cape Town, 27 to 31 October 2026 |
| Squad | 18-man preliminary Test squad |
| Ruled out and not selected | Ottneil Baartman, Kwena Maphaka, Lungi Ngidi (hamstring injuries) |
| Included despite injury | Kagiso Rabada (hamstring), fitness to be assessed after an intra-squad match |
| Also recalled | Anrich Nortje, Gerald Coetzee, Dane Paterson |
The injury crisis opens the door
Hamstrings have hit South Africa's pace stocks hard. Baartman, Maphaka and Ngidi were all ruled out and not picked, while Rabada made the squad despite a hamstring problem of his own and will be checked after an intra-squad match. Coetzee and Paterson came back in alongside Nortje.
Head coach Shukri Conrad said Nortje did not need much persuading: "I didn't have to say much to get Anrich back in. We have been in conversation for a while. He indicated as far back as the last T20 World Cup that he was still available for all formats." Nortje played for South Africa at the T20 World Cup in March 2026.
Conrad was also clear that the recall will be handled with care: "Anrich is as professional and pedantic as they come. He keeps detailed spreadsheets about his workloads." And: "It is great to have his calibre and pace available. We will monitor him in the week and make decisions based on that." He added a note of caution: "We will have to see if a Test match is the correct introduction back to international cricket for him."
What a recall would mean
For Nortje, it would be a first Test since early 2023, a gap of more than three years in which he has stayed in the white-ball picture. For South Africa, it is about more than one bowler. They are the reigning World Test Championship holders after beating Australia in the final at Lord's last year, and they now have to defend that title against the same opponents with half their quicks in the physio room.
Nothing is settled yet. Conrad's own words suggest Nortje's workload will be watched closely in the build-up to Durban, and Rabada's fitness is still an open question.
Draft the depth, not just the headline quick
This is the BuildXI lesson: pace depth wins series, and a draft season is no different. You spin eleven real IPL squads from 2008 to 2025, take one player from each, and play fourteen league games with the XI you end up with. One injured spearhead can sink a plan, so the bowler everyone forgot about is often worth more than his price tag suggests. The target is 14-0: fourteen games, fourteen wins.