South Africa drop Tristan Stubbs for 2nd Test in Gqeberha, Matthew Breetzke comes in

South Africa have dropped Tristan Stubbs from their 17-member squad for the second Test against Australia in Gqeberha. The 26-year-old registered scores of 32 and 1 in the two innings, respectively, during the first Test in Durban, playing his first game in the longest format after 11 months.

Stubbs has been replaced by Matthew Breetzke, who has played two Tests for South Africa, in Bangladesh in October 2024 and Zimbabwe in July 2025. South Africa head coach Shukri Conrad has also confirmed that Ryan Rickelton will take the keeping gloves, which means that Kyle Verreynne, who hasn’t hit fifty in his last 13 innings, is unlikely to make the playing XI.

"Matt has been part of the squad before, where he played one Test in Bangladesh and another one in Zimbabwe. The fact that his ODI form is as hot as it is gave him an inside lane and, more importantly, it's the attitude and the character Matt brings and has. The other noteworthy news would be that Ryan Rickelton will be taking the gloves in the second Test," Conrad said in a press conference.

Conrad hints at batting order shuffle

Meanwhile, Tony de Zorzi wasn’t considered for selection as he continues to recover from a left hamstring injury. Shukri Conrad also hinted at a possible shuffle in the batting order with Rickelton taking the gloves.

"With Ricks taking the gloves, there are decisions to be made over whether he does move down the order or whether he can continue to open the batting, which he has done before," Conrad said.

South Africa will be desperate to make a comeback in the series, having lost the first Test by a huge margin of 214 runs in Durban.

South Africa Squad for 2nd Test vs Australia: Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, Matthew Breetzke, Temba Bavuma(c), David Bedingham, Kyle Verreynne(w), Marco Jansen, Simon Harmer, Keshav Maharaj, Dane Paterson, Gerald Coetzee, Corbin Bosch, Kagiso Rabada, Wiaan Mulder, Anrich Nortje, Senuran Muthusamy, Marques Ackerman