South Africa v Australia Test cricket on UK TV 2026: Schedule, channel & live stream

South Africa and Australia resume hostilities in a hotly anticipated three-match Test series.

The top two teams in the world rankings will battle it out in October – in what is the Aussies' first Test tour of South Africa since Sandpapergate in 2018.

The pair have met just four times in the red-ball arena since, with Australia winning a home series 2-0 in 2022/23 and the Proteas beating them in the World Test Championship final last year.

It marks the start of a run of 21 Tests across the next 12 months, including next summer's Ashes series, for the visitors, while South Africa host England in a three-match Test series this winter.

As a result, there will be plenty of interest from English fans – and the good news is that there will be extensive coverage throughout the series.

Radio Times brings you all the details about how to watch the South Africa v Australia Test series.

When is the South Africa v Australia Test series?

The series between South Africa and Australia begins with the start of the 1st Test on Friday 9 October and is scheduled to run until the final day of the 3rd Test on Saturday 31 October.

Play is scheduled to start at 8:30am UK time for the 1st and 3rd Test, and 9am for the 2nd Test. Check out the full start, lunch and team times here.

How to watch the South Africa v Australia Test series on TV and live stream

You can watch the series live on Sky Sports Cricket.

Sky Sports can be added to any Sky TV package for just £24 per month for all nine sports channels, or you can pick up the complete sports package plus Netflix for £35 per month.

• Find out more about the best Sky packages

Sky Sports customers can live stream the game via the Sky Go app on a variety of devices including most smartphones and tablets as part of their subscription.

You can also watch the series via NOW with a day membership (£14.99) or month membership (£34.99).

NOW can be streamed through a computer or apps found on most smart TVs, phones and consoles. NOW is also available via TNT Sports.

All UK time. All live on Sky Sports Cricket and NOW.

Friday 9 – Tuesday 13 October

• 1st Test: South Africa v Australia at Durban (8:30am)

Sunday 18 – Thursday 22 October

• 2nd Test: South Africa v Australia at St George's Oval (9am)

Tuesday 27 – Saturday 31 October

• 3rd Test: South Africa v Australia at Newlands, Cape Town (9am)

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Authors

Ned is a sports writer at RadioTimes.com. He has covered a host of sports from EFL football, international cricket and golf all the way through to bike polo and triathlon.