South Africa Cricket Team - All You Need to Know

Cricket South Africa is in charge of the South African cricket team, known as the Proteas after their national flower. They were one of the three founding members and have been an ICC Full Member since June 15th, 1909.

On this page, you can read about South Africa's cricket history, the team's colors, its top players, how they've fared in ICC events and against other teams, and how they're doing right now in international competitions.

South Africa Cricket Team - History

When the Dutch East India Company established the Cape Colony in 1652, European colonization of South Africa officially started. The British had little interest in Africa until they conquered the Cape Colony in 1775 during the French Revolution.

In South Africa, the first recorded cricket game was played in 1808.

South Africa cricket team played their first test match in 1889, becoming the third team to do so.

They won their first game against England in 1906 and went on to win the series 4-1. Quality players, including Jimmy Sinclair, Bonnor Middleton, Dave Nourse, Charlie Llewellyn, Aubrey Faulkner, Percy Sherwell, Bert Vogler, and Tip Snooke, helped their squad grow in stature.

South Africa then toured Australia for the very first time in 1910. They won the series by 4-1, the first time they beat Australia.

They competed in a triangular competition against England and Australia, the two other test countries at the time, in 1912.

When World War-I broke out, international cricket was put on hold until the end of 1918.

The 1920s were a dry spell for South African cricket, but that changed in the 1930s with the development of outstanding players like Alan Melville, Dudley Nourse, Pieter van der Bijl, and Ken Viljoen.

Due to the stringent Apartheid regulations enacted in 1948, no non-white individual was permitted to play cricket South Africa.

In 1970, the International Cricket Council (ICC) agreed to exclude South Africa from all international cricket, and some of their best players, such as Robin Smith and Allan Lamb, moved to England to play for them.

They played their first match back (and their first ODI) against India in November 1991. Their first test match after readmission was against the West Indies in April of the following year.

They became the world's top test team when they defeated England 2-0 in 2012. As a result, they became the first side to dominate the ICC cricket rankings in all three forms.

At present, they have a good team that can compete with the best on their day. Mark Boucher is their head coach, Dean Elgar is their Test captain, Temba Bavuma is their ODI captain, and Quinton de Kock is their T20 captain.

What are the colors of the South Africa Cricket Team?

Test Matches

The South African National Cricket team wears whites for test matches. On the left side of the South African cricket whites are the king protea symbol and the country's distinctive flag. The name and logo of the sponsor can be seen on the right. They also wear a white sun hat or a green cap when they are on the field. Both caps feature the Cricket South Africa emblem. They bat while wearing green helmets with the Cricket South Africa emblem.

ODI and T20 Matches

The shirt in 50-over cricket is light green with dark green sleeves, whereas the shirt in 20-over cricket is yellow with green at the end of the sleeves. When playing limited-overs cricket, the king protea badge and the country's flag are on the left of the t-shirt, while the sponsor's logo is on the right. Both versions of the trousers are green. During fielding, they will wear a green cap or sun hat with the Cricket South Africa logo.

South Africa Cricket Team - Best Players

Over the years, South Africa has produced numerous exceptional cricketers, including Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers. We will now look at three outstanding players currently playing for them.

Faf du Plessis

At the age of 26, he made his ODI debut for South Africa squad, and he has since become a crucial player for the national team in all game formats. He hit a century in his first test match in 2012, making him the fourth South African player to do so.

He has scored 4163 runs (10 centuries and 21 half-centuries) at an average of 40.03 in 69 test matches. In 143 One-Day Internationals, he has scored 5,507 runs (12 centuries and 35 half-centuries) at an average of 47.47. He has appeared in 50 T20 matches and scored 1,528 runs, averaging 35.53 (maximum score of 119).

Temba Bavuma

Temba Bavuma made his Test debut for the Saffers against the West Indies in 2014 but had to wait over two years for his maiden ODI for his country. Three years later, he made his South African T20I debut. As you can see, he had to wait patiently for his opportunity in all three forms, but he grabbed it when it came. He was the first black African player to hit a Test century and the team's first captain.

He has scored 2,097 runs (1 century and 15 half-centuries) at an average of 32.26 in 44 Test matches. In 13 One-Day Internationals, he has scored 499 runs (1 century and two half-centuries) at an average of 49.90. In 17 Twenty20 International games, he has scored 422 runs at an average of 26.37. He is 31 years old. Thus, he still has time to improve these statistics.

Kagiso Rabada

Kagiso Rabada made his South African debut in 2014 at the age of 19 and has since established himself in all three formats of the game. In 2016, he became the first player to be named Test Cricketer of the Year, Cricketer of the Year, and ODI Cricketer of the Year at Cricket South Africa's annual banquet.

In the 47 test matches he has played, he has 213 wickets at an average of 22.75. This includes ten 5-wicket hauls and four 10-wicket hauls. In 81 One-Day Internationals, he has taken 126 scalps at an average of 27.58. (1 5-wicket haul). He has dismissed 42 batsmen with an average of 26.61 in 36 T20 matches. He is undoubtedly a cricketer who will be a long-term member of the South African national side.

How Have Cricket South Africa Performed Against Other Nations?

Test Matches

As of August 2022, South Africa has played 453 Test matches resulting in 175 victories, 154 defeats and 124 draws for an overall winning percentage of 38.63.

Opponent Matches Won Lost Draw Tied % Won
England 154 35 64 55 0 22.72
Australia 98 26 52 20 0 26.53
New Zealand 47 26 5 16 0 55.31
India 42 17 15 10 0 40.47
Sri Lanka 31 16 9 6 0 51.61
West Indies 30 20 3 7 0 66.66
Pakistan 28 15 6 7 0 53.57
Bangladesh 14 12 0 2 0 85.71
Zimbabwe 9 8 0 1 0 88.88

One-Day International Matches

As of September 2021, South Africa has played 837 ODI matches resulting in 406 victories, 391 defeats and 10 tries for an overall winning percentage of 50.92.

Opponent Matches Won Lost Tied No Result % Won
Full Members
Afghanistan 1 1 0 0 0 100
Australia 103 51 48 3 1 49.51
Bangladesh 24 18 6 0 0 75
England 63 30 28 1 4 47.62
India 84 46 35 0 3 54.76
Ireland 8 6 1 0 1 85.71
New Zealand 71 41 25 0 5 57.75
Pakistan 82 46 35 0 1 56.96
Sri Lanka 78 44 32 1 1 57.79
West Indies 62 44 15 1 2 70.97
Zimbabwe 41 38 2 0 1 92.68
Associate Members
Canada 1 1 0 0 0 100
Kenya 10 10 0 0 0 100
Netherlands 4 4 0 0 0 100
Scotland 1 1 0 0 0 100
United Arab Emirates 2 2 0 0 0 100
Total 632 387 220 6 18 63.62
United Arab Emirates 2 2 0 0 0 100
Total 837 406 391 10 30 50.92

T20 Matches

There have been 151 T20I matches played by South Africa so far in 2021, and they have won 87 matches, lost 62 matches, tied one, and had no result for an overall winning percentage of 58.33.

Opponent Matches Won Lost Tied No Result % Won
Full Members
Afghanistan 2 2 0 0 0 100
Australia 22 8 14 0 0 36.36
Bangladesh 7 7 0 0 0 100
England 25 12 12 0 1 50
India 23 9 13 0 1 40.9
Ireland 5 5 0 0 0 100
New Zealand 15 11 4 0 0 73.33
Pakistan 21 10 11 0 0 47.61
Sri Lanka 17 11 5 1 0 67.64
West Indies 16 10 6 0 0 62.5
Zimbabwe 5 5 0 0 0 100
Associate Members
Netherlands 1 1 0 0 0 100
Scotland 1 1 0 0 0 100
Total 160 92 65 1 2 58.54

How has the South African cricket team been performing recently?

South Africa began the year with a flurry of games against Pakistan. The first series was a two-match Test series in which they were defeated 2-0, followed by a three-match T20 series in which they were defeated 2-1. They then lost three One-Day Internationals (ODIs) 2-1. They played four more T20Is, and Pakistan won the series 3-1.

They then won a two-match Test series against the West Indies, 2-0, followed by a 3-2 T20I series triumph over the same opposition. They subsequently tied a three-match ODI series with Ireland 1-1 before defeating them 3-0 in a T20 series.

Then came a three-match ODI series and a three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka, in which they lost 2-1 and 3-0, respectively.

The South Africa upcoming matches include the T20 World Cup next, followed by three ODIs against the Netherlands and a three-match Test series against India.