PERTH (AUSTRALIA) - South Africa captain Faf du Plessis won the toss and opted to bat against Australia in the first Test at Perth on Thursday.
South African captain Faf du Plessis plays a shot to score a century during the One Day International against Australia in Johannesburg
The visitors elected to leave out tall fast bowler Morne Morkel in the first match of the three-Test series, instead promoting emerging spinner Keshav Maharaj for his debut.
Australia omitted uncapped fast bowler Joe Mennie, with veteran Peter Siddle returning to the side.
The Proteas thrashed Australia 5-0 in their recent one-day series, but the Australians have been boosted by the return to fitness of bowling spearhead Mitchell Starc.
South Africa have never lost a Test in Perth and are desperate to improve their recent record away from home, while the Australians are keen to rebound from a 3-0 away loss to Sri Lanka in its most recent Test series.
Teams:
Australia: Steven Smith (capt), David Warner, Shaun Marsh, Usman Khawaja, Adam Voges, Mitchell Marsh, Peter Nevill, Mitchell Starc, Peter Siddle, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon.
South Africa: Faf du Plessis (capt), Stephen Cook, Dean Elgar, Hashim Amla, Temba Bavuma, JP Duminy, Quinton de Kock, Vernon Philander, Dale Steyn, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj.
Umpires: Aleem Dar (PAK) and Nigel Llong (ENG)
TV umpire: Richard Kettleborough (ENG)
Match referee: Andy Pycroft (ZIM)