{"id":92507,"date":"2026-10-07T15:27:07","date_gmt":"2026-10-07T05:27:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/?p=92507"},"modified":"2026-10-07T15:27:07","modified_gmt":"2026-10-07T05:27:07","slug":"south-africa-vs-australia-1st-test-predictions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/2026\/10\/south-africa-vs-australia-1st-test-predictions\/","title":{"rendered":"South Africa vs Australia 1st Test 2026: Tips & Prediction"},"content":{"rendered":"
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South Africa<\/div>\n
vs<\/div>\n
Australia<\/div>\n
Friday 9th October 2026 5:30 PM<\/div>\n
Australia @ $2.02<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/use><\/svg><\/span>\n <\/div>\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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We have our South Africa vs Australia 1st Test tips and predictions for the big test in Kingsmead this week.<\/p>\n

Durban hosts the first of three tests between two of the biggest cricketing nations, and the odds have Australia as slight favourites to prevail on the road.<\/p>\n

Cricket odds<\/strong><\/a> are available at Neds, and we have our South Africa vs Australia prediction for the 1st test ready to go.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\n South Africa vs Australia<\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n\n\n
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Match Betting<\/div>\n
Australia @ $2.02<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div> \n <\/div> \n
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Australia is always tough to beat in a test match, and although playing in South Africa is never easy, we\u2019re loving the team Australia has named for the 1st test.<\/p>\n

They have a wealth of experience with Steve Smith, Travis Head, and Mitchell Starc, and some of the newer players should add some excitement, including Sam Harper and Beau Webster.<\/p>\n

There is every reason to be excited if you\u2019re an Australian cricket fan, and although there have been some tough times over the last few years, the future is bright for this team, and the $2.02 odds are generous.<\/p>\n

Our South Africa vs Australia tips have them winning on Day 5, and it could be an exciting finish.<\/p>\n

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Top Australia 1st Innings Run Scorer<\/div>\n
Steve Smith @ $3.90<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div> \n <\/div> \n
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Steve Smith should want to make an early impression against South Africa, and with the wicket likely to favour batsmen, he could score a century in the 1st innings.<\/p>\n

His form coming into this test series has been good, and his experience is unrivaled. That usually makes a big impact on the scorers\u2019 sheet, and Smith is the current favourite for a reason.<\/p>\n

We expect him to have a steady innings without taking many risks, and he could build a big partnership to set Australia up with a lead.<\/p>\n

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Top South African 1st Innings Run Scorer<\/div>\n
Marques Ackerman @ $6.00<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div> \n <\/div> \n
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Our South Africa vs Australia 1st test predictions have Marques Ackerman leading the charge for the hosts in the 1st innings.<\/p>\n

The 30-year-old has enough power to hit some big shots, and although he\u2019s not always the most patient batter in the lineup, he could deliver for South Africa when they need him most.<\/p>\n

If SA gets off to a poor start, he\u2019ll likely come into the lineup at 3-5, and he could make his Proteas debut a happy one. Punters get $6 for Ackerman to lead South Australia\u2019s batsmen in the 1st innings, which is a good price.<\/p>\n

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Player of the Match<\/div>\n
Mitchell Starc @ $12.50<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div> \n <\/div> \n
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It was a close choice between Steve Smith and Mitchell Starc, but we picture Starc tearing through the South African opening order, which could be the winning of the test match.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s another experienced player who is still bowling well, and his speed figures haven\u2019t dropped too much towards the back end of his career.<\/p>\n

If Starc picks up around 5-6 wickets in the test match, he could win Player of the Match, and the $12.50 odds are worth including in our South Africa vs Australia prediction.<\/p>\n

\n Bet Now<\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div> \n <\/div> \n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We have our South Africa vs Australia 1st Test tips and predictions for the big test in Kingsmead this week. Durban hosts the first of three tests between two of the biggest cricketing nations, and the odds have Australia as slight favourites to prevail on the road. Cricket odds are available at Neds, and we have our South Africa vs Australia prediction for the 1st test ready to go. Australia is always tough to beat in a test match, and although playing in South Africa is never easy, we\u2019re loving the team Australia has named for the 1st test. They…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":56,"featured_media":92508,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10188,10,3045],"tags":[1646],"hub_post_cat":[],"class_list":["post-92507","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-agency-produced","category-cricket","category-cricket-tips","tag-cricket-tips"],"acf":{"md_tip_date":"","md_tip_date_end":"","md_market_url":"","tip_date":"07\/10\/2026","event_country":"Australia"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92507","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/56"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=92507"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92507\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":93418,"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92507\/revisions\/93418"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/92508"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=92507"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=92507"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=92507"},{"taxonomy":"hub_post_cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hub_post_cat?post=92507"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}