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Never mind Australia in September — the Proteas start their 2026-2027 season in Windhoek at the end of August with a T20 triangular series against the hosts, Namibia and Zimbabwe. South Africa will stay behind for a three-match ODI series against Namibia, providing important competition for the Eagles as they pursue qualification for next year’s World Cup, which they will co-host with their Southern African neighbours. Cricket Namibia will announce the fixtures on Friday. For Namibia, the visit by their neighbours is part of an important few weeks, not only from a financial perspective but also in keeping their players busy before their next phase of qualification for the 2027 World Cup. The Namibians are currently fifth in the World Cup League 2 tournament and need to finish in the top four to earn a spot directly into the qualifier event. Failure to do so would see them drop into a play-off series. With their focus already turned to Australia, who will start their tour of South Africa with a three-match ODI series on September 24, the Proteas won’t be picking their strongest players for the trip to Windhoek. It’s not a priority for the Proteas, who will face the Australians in three Tests after the ODIs, immediately followed by two Tests against Bangladesh. South Africa’s coach Shukri Conrad has already made it clear that the household names will be rested for ODIs and T20s against Bangladesh, which precede the three Tests with England, the first of which takes place at the Wanderers starting on December 17. As a result the squad for Namibia, which will be announced next week, will look much like the group that toured New Zealand in March for a T20 series, and saw five players make their debuts in the format, with Prenelan Subrayen the only one who had previously represented the national team in Tests and ODIs.Kwena Maphaka, Jordan Hermann, Nqobani Mokoena and Nqaba Peter, who toured England with the SA A side in May, are likely to feature. Matches in Windhoek will take place at the Namibia Cricket Ground, which was completed last year with an eye on the country co-hosting the World Cup. Its first major test event was the T20 International between South Africa and Namibia in October last year, which the latter won. As an associate member of the International Cricket Council, Namibia doesn’t earn a spot directly in the World Cup, the way South Africa and Zimbabwe do, owing to their status as full members. The ODI series against South Africa will help with Namibia’s preparation for the next phase of World Cup eligibility, in which they hope to reach a 10-team World Cup Qualifier tournament. The winner of that competition, which is set to be played early next year, will earn a spot directly into the main draw for the World Cup.The three remaining best-placed teams will play in the controversial “Super Series”, which the ICC announced two weeks ago as part of the revamp for the World Cup. That “Super Series” will see two teams eliminated in the first week of the World Cup, with the remaining 12 split into two groups of six. Thereafter, the best seven sides go into a new “Super Seven” section. The top four teams after that play in the semifinals.
