Australia vs South Africa live streaming
Cricket - Ashes test match - Australia v England - SCG, Sydney, Australia, January 8, 2018. Australia's captain Steve Smith holds a replica Ashes urn next to team mates after they won the fifth Ashes cricket test match and the series 4-0. Reuters / David Gray

Rivals Australia and South Africa will lock horns in the first Test of a four-match series at Kingsmead, Durban, starting on Thursday. Steve Smith's Australians will field the same team that lifted the Ashes urn at the Sydney Cricket Ground seven weeks ago into the first Test against the Proteas.

Four years ago, Australia clinched the three-Test series by a 2-1 margin, winning the first and third Tests at Centurion and Cape Town, respectively. However, only captain Steve Smith, vice-captain David Warner, veteran spinner Nathan Lyon and Shaun Marsh are remnants of that victorious Australian Test squad. The new-look Aussie team is coming off a comfortable 4-0 Ashes victory over England.

Smith realises that beating South Africa in South Africa is one of the hardest assignments in world cricket. The young skipper also acknowledges that the series could make or break careers.

"There's no doubt it's a tough tour. Conditions wise it's as similar as you get to back home but you're still away from home and they're a good team. So it's a chance where guys can find some confidence that they can play well away from home and hopefully some guys have innings like Shaun at Centurion and make a name for themselves and give them that confidence they can do it against quality attacks like South Africa," Smith said on the eve of the first Australia vs South Africa Test at Durban, via ESPNCricinfo.

Meanwhile, South Africa are fresh off a 2-1 series victory against India at home. In December 2017, star batsman AB De Villiers made his return to Test cricket for the first time in nearly two years during the one-off match against Zimbabwe at Port Elizabeth. Since his return, De Villiers has notched up three half-centuries and is expected to play a key role for the hosts against Australia.

South Africa opener Dean Elgar is hoping that his team continues to field four fast bowlers against Australia, a strategy that worked brilliantly against the Indians. With Dale Steyn dealing with a heel injury, the South African squad includes four quick bowlers -- Vernon Philander, Morne Morkel, Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi.

"I'd like to see all the (fast) bowlers play and the spinner. I think against Australia you potentially need to slow the game down, which they probably aren't used to. So a guy like Keshav (Maharaj) has played well against them in the past, so he'll play a big part in the series. Whether we play more quicks than what we usually do or less is up to the captain, coach and selectors," said Elgar.

Australia's tour of South Africa will include four Test matches. The first Australia vs South Africa Test will get underway at Kingsmead on Thursday, March 1. The four-Test series will culminate with the final match at the New Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg. Australia vs South Africa live streaming, Durban Test live streaming and cricket live streaming info follow.

Australia vs South Africa live stream: How to watch Durban Test online
First Test (March 1-5)
Start time: 10 a.m. (Local Time), 7 p.m. (AEDT), 8 a.m. (GMT)
On TV: Fox Sports (Australia), SuperSport (South Africa), Willow TV (USA), Sky Sports (UK)
Live Stream: Fox Tel (Australia), Willow TV (USA), Watch Sky Sports (UK)