The South African national team, which also goes by the name of Proteas, represents the country South Africa internationally across the three formats of the sport. It’s administered by a governing body known as Cricket South Africa. The team is a full member of the International Cricket Council.
Early History
As in most colonized nations, cricket was initially introduced in South Africa by the British in the early 19th century.
The first-ever cricket match was played in Cape Town between two service teams in 1808. In 1843, the first and the oldest club, known as the Port Elizabeth Cricket Club, was founded.
First Test and Series in South Africa
In 1888, the England cricket team toured South Africa for the very first time, courtesy of Sir Donald Currie, who sponsored the English team. In 1889, South Africa became just the third nation to play a Test match. The match was played against England in Port Elizabeth. The team was captained by Owen Robert Dunnell.
| Country |
South Africa
|
| Founded | 1889 |
| Captain | Dean Elgar |
| Coach | Mark Boucher |
| Website | cricket.co.za |
| Follow This Team | |
Soon, cricket started to go through progressive development, and the first-ever cricket tournament was staged in Port Elizabeth, which was won by King William’s Town.
South Africa’s early Test record is one of the worst. It took them 17 years to register their first Test victory, which came against England cricket team in 1906.
Unfolding of the First World-Class South African Team
It was only in the early 1900s that the South African cricket team started to emerge as a force. Players like Bonnor Middleton, Jimmy Sinclair, Charlie Llewellyn, Dave Nourse, Louis Tancred, Aubrey Faulkner, Reggie Schwarz, Percy Sherwell, Tip Snooke, Bert Vogler, and Gordon White joined the team, making it a squad that could knock any team’s socks off. They possessed some of the best players who had insane stats in Test Cricket.
The War Era
There came a slight halt in international cricket in South Africa during the years of war. The matches that were scheduled were suspended from 1914-1918. Cricket resumed in South Africa in the latter part of 1918.
In 1947, when the situation had completely stabilized, the squad went to England cricket team to play against them. This was the tour where Captain Alan Melville and Vice-Captain Dudley Nourse recorded the highest third-wicket stand of 319 runs in the history of world Test cricket.
The International Ban
An international ban was imposed by the International Cricket Council on the South African cricket team in 1970 due to apartheid laws, which divided people by the color of their skin starting in 1948. This resulted in the disruption of careers for some promising players. Some of the better players, including Allan Lamb and Robin Smith, emigrated and started playing for England. The ban was a huge blow to players like Clive Rice and Vincent van der Bijl, who had excellent first-class records but never got to play again.
Post International Ban
The ban was lifted in 1991. The South African international team played its first international match since the ban in 1970 against India national cricket team in Calcutta. It was their first One Day International (ODI) match, and although they lost, Allan Donald picked up a five-fer. South Africa won their first ODI later in the series in Delhi.
They made their Test debut post-ban against the West Indies cricket team in April 1992 in Bridgetown, Barbados but collapsed on the final day to hand the hosts the win.
International Tournaments
The 1992 World Cup
In 1992, the South African team performed exceptionally well, making it to the semi-finals. It seemed like they could go all the way, but they came up against Sri Lanka, a formidable team. South Africa fought hard and brought the equation down to 22 runs from 13 balls, but the play was interrupted by rain. Due to miscalculation, they were left with 22 runs to score in just one ball after the rain delay.
The 2003 World Cup
In 2003, South Africa hosted the World Cup and were heavy favorites to win, with a team comprising superstars like Shaun Pollock, Allan Donald, Gary Kirsten, and Jacques Kallis. Unfortunately, they failed to progress from the group stages due to a misunderstanding of how many runs they needed in a rain-affected game.
Due to similar slumps in later years, and after failing to win any major ICC trophies despite reaching advanced stages of tournaments, the team earned the nickname “chokers.”
South African Cricket Team Records
Top Test Run Scorers
- Jacques Kallis
- Hashim Amla
- Graeme Smith
- AB de Villiers
- Gary Kirsten
Top ODI Run Scorers
- Jacques Kallis
- AB de Villiers
- Hashim Amla
- Herschelle Gibbs
- Graeme Smith
Top Test Wicket Takers
- Dale Steyn
- Shaun Pollock
- Makhaya Ntini
- Allan Donald
- Morne Morkel
Top ODI Wicket Takers
- Shaun Pollock
- Allan Donald
- Jacques Kallis
- Makhaya Ntini
- Dale Steyn
Major Achievements
- Champions Trophy 1998
- Highest-ever ODI score: 439-2 vs. West Indies cricket team in Johannesburg
- Highest-ever Test score: 682-6dec
- Won the Gold Medal at the Commonwealth Games
Head to Head Comparison
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