South Africa Cricket News, Updates and Interviews
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This is the big question facing the Proteas after wrapping up their recent games against Pakistan with somewhat mixed results.
South Africa won the T20 and Test series but lost in the ODI series.
Ahead of a 50-over tri-series against New Zealand and Pakistan next month, the Proteas will need to build momentum ahead of the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy from February 19.
South Africa has the firepower to claim their second title but need to navigate a tricky group stage against Australia, England, and newcomers Afghanistan.
David Miller//Getty Images
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The Proteas reached their first ICC final at the 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup but fell short by seven runs against India.
South Africa will look to dust themselves off, with the 2025 Champions Trophy and the 2027 World Cup on the horizon.
Top Cricket Tournaments in South Africa
SA20
Despite being only three seasons old, the SA20 has enjoyed significant support thanks to the investment of the Indian Premier League, from which the six franchises are named.
Legendary Proteas batsman Graeme Smith is the commissioner of the 20-over tournament.
The six franchises represented in SA20 are Durban’s Super Giants, Joburg Super Kings, Mumbai Indians Cape Town, Paarl Royals, Sunrisers Eastern Cape, and Pretoria Capitals.
Sunrisers EC played in both finals thus far and also won both titles.
It’s fair to state that interest in SA20 has been piqued thanks to the involvement of international stars like Kane Williamson, Will Jacks, and Dinesh Karthik.
CSA 4-Day Domestic Series
The first-class domestic series, with each game played over four days instead of the traditional five for tests, pits all nine South African provinces against each other.
The 4-Day Series was revamped ahead of the 2021/2022 season.
With these changes by Cricket South Africa, the series went from a six-franchise competition to a two-tier competition with 15 teams competing in two divisions.
The 2024/2025 4-Day Series is currently underway and wraps up in April.
The current allocation of teams sees Boland, Dolphins, Lions, KwaZulu-Natal Inland, North West Dragons, Titans, Warriors and Western Province in Division One.
Seven other teams make up Division Two.
Memorable South Africa team wins
South Africa vs Australia: March 12, 2006
- Often referred to as ‘the 438 game’ due to the record-breaking nature of the match
- Australia posted a record-setting first innings total of 434/4 in their 50 overs
- Then-skipper Ricky Ponting scored the fastest ODI 150 score of 99 balls
- South Africa’s Herschelle Gibbs surpassed his own national record for the fastest century, making 175 from 111 balls
- The Proteas scored 438/9 to beat Australia by one ball
- South Africa set records for the highest successful ODI chase and the highest second innings ODI total
- 872 runs were recorded in the match, the highest aggregate for a cricket match
Herschelle Gibbs//Getty Images
South Africa vs Afghanistan: June 26, 2024
- Afghanistan chose to bat but were bowled out for just 56 runs
- Marco Jansen was Man of the Match with figures of 16/3 from three overs
- Tabraiz Shamsi also impressed with three wickets for six runs from 1.5 overs
- This was Afghanistan’s lowest-ever score in T20 internationals
- In the Proteas innings, Quinton de Kock was dismissed for just five runs
- Reeza Hendricks and captain Aiden Markram took South Africa over the line
- In doing so, the Proteas qualified for their first-ever ICC tournament final
Top South African Cricket Batsman
AB de Villiers: 2004-2018
- Former Proteas captain in ODIs, T20s and Tests
- Three-time ICC ODI Player of the Year (2010, 2014 and 2015)
- Holds the records for the fastest ODI half-century (from 16 balls), the fastest ODI century (from 31 balls), and the fastest ODI 150 (from 62 balls)
- Recorded the fastest Test century by a South African and the fastest T20 international half-century by a South African
- Boasts a career batting average of 50.66 in Tests and 53.50 in ODIs
- Starred for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the Indian Premier League and became one of the league’s biggest stars
- Inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame in 2024
Makhaya Ntini: 1998-2011
- Made history as the first black player to represent the Proteas
- Became the first South African to take a wicket at Lord’s in England
- Set a career best of 13 wickets against West Indies in 2005
- Claimed 22 five-wicket hauls and was joint-second on a list of South Africans for most five-wicket hauls (alongside Allan Donald)
- Became the only black player to reach 100 Test matches in 2009
Makhaya Ntini//Getty Images
Aiden Markram: 2017-present
- Current T20 captain for the Proteas
- Captained South Africa U19 to the 2014 ICC Under-19 World Cup title
- Captains Sunrisers Eastern Cape in SA20 and led them to two successive trophies
- Became the first Protea to captain a team to the T20 World Cup final
- Also captained Sunrisers Hyderabad during the 2023 IPL campaign
- Has a batting average of 35.71 in Tests, 36.31 in ODIs, and 30.37 in T20s
- Set a career high score in 50-over cricket of 175 against the Netherlands in April 2023
Best Cricket Stadium in South Africa
Wanderers Stadium: 34,000 capacity
- Situated in Illovo, Johannesburg and is also known as the Bullring
- Stadium was renovated after South Africa’s readmission to international cricket in 1991
- The first Test match at Wanderers was in December 1956 against England
- The legendary ‘438 game’ at the ground saw South Africa eclipse Australia’s record-setting score
- The 2003 Cricket World Cup and 2007 T20 World Cup finals took place at Wanderers
- With South Africa hosting the 2009 IPL, the second semi-final and final were held at the stadium
- AB de Villiers set his record for the fastest ODI 50 at Wanderers and the fastest T20 international 50 a year later
ICC Cricket World Cup 2003, Johannesburg//Getty Images
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