It leaves his Test place hanging, because Cricket South Africa has ruled him out of the ODIs without saying a word about the Durban opener on October 9. Maphaka strained his right hamstring in training before the Australia series, and the assessments that will decide his return timeline haven’t been made public. He isn’t the only quick in trouble either. Rabada, Ngidi and Baartman are all nursing hamstrings of their own, so South Africa’s Test attack is being shaped by physio reports rather than by ordinary selection meetings.
CSA’s Official Word on the Strain
South Africa announced on Wednesday, September 23, 2026, that Kwena Maphaka would miss all three ODIs against Australia with a right hamstring strain. He picked it up at training while preparing for the series, and the board said he’d undergo assessments to work out how bad the damage is.
That second part matters most. No result from those assessments had been released, and no follow-up statement addressed his Test availability. For a fast bowler, the gap between a mild strain and a serious one can be the difference between two weeks and two months.
The timing couldn’t be worse. Maphaka now joins a growing list of frontline quicks sidelined by the same muscle, a pattern that should worry anyone planning South Africa’s home summer against Australia.
Lizaad Williams Earns a Recall at 32
Boland paceman Lizaad Williams was named as the replacement in that same statement and was set to join the squad the same day, ahead of the opener in Durban. At 32, he’s hardly a development pick. He’s the experienced cover South Africa reach for when the younger options run out.
His ODI numbers make a decent case. Williams has played 8 matches and taken 16 wickets at an average of 24.87, with an economy of 5.88 and best figures of 4/32. He debuted against Ireland on 16 July 2021 and last played the format against Pakistan on 4 November 2025.
That’s a small sample, but a tidy one. An average under 25 suggests he takes wickets rather than simply holding an end, which is exactly what a thin attack needs.
Maphaka hamstring injury Test series
The calendar is the real problem. The ODIs run at Kingsmead on 24 September, the Wanderers on 27 September and Potchefstroom’s JB Marks Oval on 30 September. A two-day practice match between Australia and a South Africa XI follows on 3 and 4 October, before the first Test starts in Durban on 9 October.
Gqeberha hosts the second Test from 18 October, and Cape Town closes the contest from 27 October. That gives the young quick roughly two weeks before the opening Test, with barely any first-class overs in his legs even if he recovers in time.
Selectors could gamble on him for the Durban opener, but a hamstring rarely forgives a rushed return. Gqeberha on 18 October looks the more realistic target, assuming the scans come back kind.
Rabada, Ngidi and Baartman Race the Clock
Kagiso Rabada suffered a Grade 3 tear of his right hamstring during winter conditioning. His domestic bowling coach Allan Donald suggested recovery could take up to 10 weeks, which threatens Durban and pushes him toward Gqeberha or Cape Town. CSA has said his selection depends on how his rehab progresses, with a call to come closer to the first Test.
Head coach Shukri Conrad said on 8 September that Rabada was progressing well and that every report from his physios was being gathered and monitored. Nothing about his status had changed since the previous update, and he remained out of the ODIs.
Lungi Ngidi went down on 18 September with a right hamstring problem picked up for the Titans against the Dolphins, and 20-year-old Nqobani Mokoena replaced him. Ottneil Baartman lasted only five overs in the first-class opener before a left hamstring injury ended his ODI hopes on 13 September, with Duan Jansen called in.
Both remain in the frame for the Tests, with their fitness to be judged nearer the start. That leaves four quicks chasing fitness at once, and nobody can answer the Maphaka hamstring injury Test series puzzle in isolation. South Africa may end up picking whichever bodies hold together, not their best attack.
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