Cape Town - Australia skipper Steve Smith has won the toss and elected to bat in the first Test against Australia at Kingsmead in Durban.

LIVE: Proteas v Australia, 1st Test

The No 2-ranked Proteas and their No 3-ranked opponents will do battle in four Tests over the course of the next month.

South Africa are yet to beat Australia since readmission in the 1991/92 season.

Morne Morkel, playing in his final Test series for his country, has been selected, while recent sensation Lungi Ngidi misses out.

Teams:

South Africa

Aiden Markram, Dean Elgar, Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers, Faf du Plessis (captain), Quinton de Kock (wkt), Theunis de Bruyn, Vernon Philander, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Morne Morkel

Australia

David Warner, Cameron Bancroft, Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith (captain), Shaun Marsh, Mitchell Marsh, Tim Paine (wkt), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood