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Mitch Marsh will retain his position as Australia's captain for the opening One Day International against South Africa at Kingsmead on Thursday, despite the arrival of official skipper Pat Cummins on the tour. The pace bowler was rested for the recent three-match series in Zimbabwe, where Marsh led the team to two wins before a tense victory in the final match.

Marsh will continue his role as Cummins puts aside jet lag to focus on preparing for the upcoming three-test series against South Africa, which begins next month. During a pre-match press conference in Durban on Wednesday, Marsh stated that Pat's main priority is the test group, and many of their bowlers, including Cummins, are preparing for that series.

However, Marsh expressed confidence that Cummins will feature in this series at some point, while Marsh will continue to lead the team. Pat Cummins has played two out of 31 ODIs since leading the team to their 2023 World Cup victory and has not appeared for Australia in the 50-over format since a nine-wicket loss to Pakistan in Adelaide nearly two years ago.

Nevertheless, the 33-year-old could return for one or both of the remaining two ODIs, against South Africa in Johannesburg on Sunday and Potchefstroom next week. These two ODI series in Zimbabwe and South Africa present an excellent opportunity for the Australian players to familiarize themselves with the conditions for the upcoming World Cup, which the two southern African nations will co-host with Namibia.