Australia and South Africa will battle for more than a series win in Cape Town, but their storied Test rivalry still lacks a permanent trophy.
A series victory could help South Africa displace Australia at the top of the Test rankings, while Pat Cummins’ side will look to become the first visiting team to win a Test series in South Africa since England in 2020-21.
Despite the history, the teams have no perpetual silverware to contest, unlike India and Australia, who play for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, or the individual battle between India’s Sachin Tendulkar and James Anderson of England, which became a defining subplot for the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy.
Australia wicketkeeper Alex Carey suggested naming the trophy after former greats Ricky Ponting and Jacques Kallis. Ponting is the leading run-scorer in Tests between the two nations, with Kallis among the top three.
“The Kallis-Ponting, or something like that,” Carey told Yahoo News.
A permanent trophy could finally give one of Test cricket’s fiercest rivalries a fitting name.
Published on Oct 26, 2026
