Australia's captain Pat Cummins has chosen to bowl first in the second men’s cricket Test against South Africa in Gqeberha. Cummins cited a damp morning and a fresh wicket as reasons for the decision.
Australia has made a change to their bowling attack, dropping spinner Nathan Lyon to play four fast bowlers, with Scott Boland coming into the side. South Africa's captain Temba Bavuma stated that the decision to bowl first was made on their behalf, indicating they were undecided.
South Africa has also revamped their team significantly. Marques Ackerman will debut, Matthew Breetzke has been brought in to strengthen the batting, and Kagiso Rabada returns after a hamstring injury. This means Verreyne and Stubbs miss out from the batting line-up, and spinner Keshav Maharaj has been dropped in favour of Simon Harmer.
Australia secured a 1-0 series lead by winning the first Test in Durban despite an earlier batting collapse. South Africa must win this game to stay in the series and earn World Test Championship points.