Faf du Plessis, a former captain of South Africa, has questioned Cricket South Africa's choice to hold the first Test match against Australia in Durban, claiming that the venue's past and the low attendance should have made the governing body reevaluate its decision.

His criticism follows Australia's decisive 214-run victory at Kingsmead, which gave them a 1-0 lead in the three-match Test series. Australia's victory maintained their stellar record at the Durban location, where they had previously defeated South Africa in 2006, 2009, and 2018.

The most recent loss has strengthened Faf's worries over the series' schedule. The former captain wonders why South Africa would start such a major match at a venue where Australia has had significant success.

“For me, there's a big question mark that I'd like to put to the decision-makers at Cricket South Africa. When you have such a poor record at Kingsmead in Durban, while Australia has an excellent record there—I think they've won their last four consecutive Test matches against us at the venue—why would you start the series there? You're effectively telling the opposition, 'Let's start at a venue where you're most comfortable.

If you compare Durban with other venues in South Africa, such as Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Pretoria, Wanderers, South Africa, and the Proteas, they have a much better record at those grounds. So that's my first question,” Faf du Plessis told Cricinfo.

Faf also questioned Durban's capacity to attract fans for a major Test series, claiming that the venue's mood fell short of the excitement surrounding Australia's return to South Africa.

“Secondly, from a crowd perspective, Durban also has the lowest viewership numbers among South African grounds. There's all this hype and talk ahead of the first Test between South Africa and Australia, an iconic series, with Australia returning for the first time since 2018. Yet, there's no crowd. You look at the television and think, 'That's not good, man. I don't want to see that. I want to see a packed stadium watching this big series',” Faf added.

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Faf’s comments highlighted a challenge for Test cricket: to attract healthy crowds for major Tests between major teams. With Australia arriving as one of the strongest touring sides, the choice of venue has become an additional talking point following South Africa's heavy defeat.

While the Proteas have had more success in Gqeberha, formerly known as Port Elizabeth, Australia has won 10 of the 14 Test matches against South Africa in Cape Town. Australia has only won three of the seven Test matches played at St. George's Park; South Africa has won four. The series' second Test will be held in Gqeberha, and the third will be held in Cape Town.

Gqeberha is the only venue in South Africa where the Proteas have won more Tests against Australia than they have lost.