England's upcoming tour of South Africa and next summer's Ashes series against Australia will be influenced by the recent Test series between the two teams. South Africa's victory in the third Test has reaffirmed their status as the best side in the world, but Australia's performance has raised questions about their development. Australia's bowling attack is ageing, and their batting line-up is caught between generations. Captain Pat Cummins, who has been under pressure, has struggled with his bowling, going over 62 overs without a wicket between the second innings of the first Test and South Africa's second dig in the third. His expected wickets return of 29.6 suggests he bowled better than his average of 53.66, but questions will be raised about his age and performance. England's spin bowling issues are longstanding, and they will need to address this weakness in the upcoming series. South Africa's off-spinner Simon Harmer, who took 10-120 to bowl the Proteas to victory in Cape Town, has a better average than any other spinner in the world since his return to Test cricket in 2022. England may need to pick a spinner, such as Shoaib Bashir, Jack Leach, or Mason Crane, or give a debut to Nottinghamshire's Liam Patterson-White. South Africa's batting order has a weakness against spin, particularly off-spin, which could be exploited by England. Captain Temba Bavuma has struggled against spin, averaging 21.37 against it since the start of 2025, and 15.00 against off-spin. England may be able to use this to their advantage. The series also highlighted the importance of lower-order runs. South Africa's victory in the third Test was largely due to their lower-order batting, which added 206 runs for the last five wickets. This is a strategy that England's lower order have not employed in recent years, instead opting to attack and score quick runs. However, this series has shown the benefit of sticking around for the top-order batters and stretching out an innings. Overall, England can learn from South Africa and Australia's Test series, particularly in addressing their spin bowling issues and the importance of lower-order runs. They will need to make some tough decisions about their team selection and strategy to compete with the best teams in the world.