Australia avoid South Africa ODI sweep with rain-shortened win in Potchefstroom

Australia avoided a sweep in South Africa on Wednesday, 30 September 2026, beating the hosts by 45 runs under the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method in the rain-shortened third one-day international in Potchefstroom. The result gave Australia a final-match win, while South Africa took the three-match series 2-1 after securing it in the first two games.

Australia made 322 for nine from their 50 overs. South Africa were 145 for four after 28 overs when rain halted the chase, and play did not resume. The revised result gave the visitors a consolation victory in a contest that could no longer change the series winner. The interruption also means the match offers no answer to how a full 50-over chase would have ended.

How Australia built 322 for nine

Alex Carey led Australia’s scoring with 74 from 88 balls, while captain Mitchell Marsh made 56 from 42. Marsh and Travis Head, who scored 24 from 20, put on 78 for the opening wicket. Their start gave Australia room to build an innings after its batting had fallen short in the first two matches of the series.

The middle order contributed more this time. Oliver Peake made 48, sharing a 73-run partnership with Carey, before Bjorn Fortuin caught him off Corbin Bosch. Matt Renshaw added 30 and put on 66 with Carey. Those stands helped Australia reach a substantial total even though Carey’s innings ended before the close.

Why South Africa’s chase ended after 28 overs

Xavier Bartlett removed Quinton de Kock and Aiden Markram early in the reply. Adam Zampa then dismissed Matthew Breetzke and Tristan Stubbs, finishing with two wickets for 34 runs from six overs. South Africa’s loss of four wickets left Ryan Rickelton carrying much of the chase when rain returned.

Rickelton was unbeaten on 71 from 81 balls when the match stopped. Pat Cummins, returning as a bowler while Marsh remained captain, conceded 17 runs in five overs without taking a wicket. The Citizen reported that Tony de Zorzi could not bat because of a hamstring problem sustained while fielding; the available accounts do not establish how serious it was.

Rain prevented a restart, so the result was calculated under the DLS method rather than by completing South Africa’s allotted overs. Australia’s 45-run margin describes the revised result at the stoppage. It should not be read as the margin that would necessarily have followed from an uninterrupted match.

What the result changed in the series

South Africa entered the final ODI with an unassailable 2-0 lead. The International Cricket Council reported that the hosts had clinched the series on 27 September with a 32-run win in the second match. Temba Bavuma scored 103 and David Miller 142 in that game as South Africa made 365 for nine.

Australia therefore changed the final series score, not its destination: South Africa won 2-1 instead of completing a 3-0 sweep. Earlier NewsJaws coverage reported South Africa’s series-clinching win. The Potchefstroom result adds Australia’s successful defence of 322 for nine in a shortened final match to that account.

Carey’s innings was his first international half-century in 17 ODI and Test innings since his Ashes hundred in Adelaide last December, according to the Australian Associated Press report published by The Guardian. Marsh made his third half-century of this ODI series. Those performances gave Australia a stronger batting platform in the final game, although the series had already been decided.

The teams now move from the completed ODI series toward Test cricket. The Citizen reported that Australia were due to play a two-day match against an SA XI in Potchefstroom before the first Test in Durban. The Guardian’s Australian Associated Press report gave 9 October as the scheduled start of that Test.