South Africa National Cricket Team
South Africa Cricket Team: Current Squad
Andile Phehlukwayo
All-rounder
ODI
T20I
№
3
Dean Elgar
Batsman
TEST
ODI
T20I
№
Lungi Ngidi
Bowler
TEST
ODI
T20I
№
22
Quinton de Kock
Wicket-Keeper
TEST
ODI
T20I
№
12
Tabraiz Shamsi
Bowler
TEST
ODI
T20I
№
26
South Africa National Cricket Team: Facts and Records
Cricket was established in South Africa by a Scotsman.
South Africa's dominated Australia at home in an era.
South Africa was the first team to have a spin quartet.
The oldest South African cricket ground is not the one many assume.
Their early record remains one of the worst in Test history.
South Africa national cricket team – full information
The South Africa national cricket team represents the men’s cricket team at international competitions, which Cricket South Africa supervises. The team from South Africa is a full member of the International Cricket Council, which allows it to play in such tournaments as Tests, T20I and ODI.
The South African national cricket team: the history of the formation of cricket
The colonization of the lands of South Africa by the Dutch East India Company began in 1652. Towards the end of the 17th century, Britain showed interest in South Africa. During the fighting, the military captured the Cape Colony, and at the beginning of the 19th century, it firmly settled there. As you know, the ancestor of cricket was England. And, of course, this popular sport began to spread in the colonized territory of South Africa by the British.
The first cricket match, officially recorded in historical reports, took place in 1808 in Cape Town. The very first cricket club was the Port Elizabeth Cricket Club, which was founded in 1843.
Gradually, cricket began to develop in the rest of South Africa. For example, by the end of the 1840s, cricket was already being played in Orange Free State and Transvaal.
In 1876, the first local cricket championship, “Champions Bat”, was founded in Port Elizabeth, in which such cities as Cape Town, Grahamstown, King William’s Town and Port Elizabeth competed among themselves.
The debut of the South African national team in first-class cricket took place in 1888. A year later, in 1889, the team took part in the first test match, thereby becoming the representative of the third country after England and Australia, which made its debut in tests. At the same time, for 17 years, the South African cricket team failed to beat England in tests. And only in 1906, the team was finally able to do this. But in the 1910-1911 season, South Africa was able to get the first victory in tests abroad.
The first country to make an official international tour to South Africa was Australia. This event occurred in 1921-22.
In general, South Africa played its first international matches in principle only against the national teams of England and Australia. And, of course, the opponents played much better since cricket in these countries was already a national sport at that time. But closer to the middle of the 20th century, the South African cricket team was able to get into shape and begin to offer decent resistance. In the 1960s, the team was already at its peak and was considered one of the strongest in the world.
However, the racial policy of South Africa, which consisted in the fact that only white European players had to play in the cricket team, contributed to the fact that the International Cricket Council decided to ban the team from competing in competitions since 1970. The ban lasted for 20 years – so much the government tried to resist settling ethnic strife among its population. In 1991, South Africa was still able to decide on changes, and the ICC made concessions, allowing the South African national cricket team to play at international competitions again.
At the same time, in 1991, the South African national cricket team made its debut at the One Day International. Its first opponent was a team from India.
In 2006, 29-year-old Ashwell Prince became the first non-white captain of the South African national cricket team.
In 2016, the quota system rule was adopted, according to which there should be six colored players in the South African cricket team, of which two should be black Africans.
South Africa national cricket team: achievements
Among the main achievements of the South African national cricket team is only the unofficial title of one of the best teams at the One Day International, which won more than 60% of matches, as well as one Champions Trophy, which the South Africans won in 1998.
Several players are the historical calling card of the national team:
- George Aubrey Faulkner (1881-1930)– this athlete is considered the very first South African all-rounder in international cricket who can combine the positions of a batsman and a bowler. He has the title of the best batsman globally and is one of the first bowlers to use googly.
- Reggie Schwarz (1875-1918)– is one of the first bowlers in the world who also used googly. By the way, it was he who taught this technique to Aubrey Faulkner.
- Herbert Wilfred Taylor (1889-1973)– was one of the leading batsmen in the world. In 42 test matches, he reached 2,500 Test runs at an average of 40.77
In 2003, South Africa hosted the ICC Cricket World Cup for the first time. In 2012, the South African national cricket team (South Africa) topped the International Cricket Council rating in all recognized cricket formats.
South Africa national cricket team: current squad, coaches
According to the latest data, there are 31 athletes in the reserve of the South African national cricket team (South Africa):
- Test Captain, playing in the position of opening batsman: Dean Elgar.
- Vice-captain playing in One Day International, Twenty20 International, Test at the position of middle-order batsman: Temba Bavuma.
- Vice-captain playing in One Day International and Twenty20 International in the position of middle-order batsman: Rassie van der Dussen.
- Batsmen (6): Faf du Plessis, Reeza Hendricks, Wihan Lubbe, Janneman Malan, Aiden Markram, David Miller.
- All-rounders (6): George Linde, Wiaan Mulder, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, JJ Smuts, Jasques Snyman.
- Wicket-keepers (4): Quiton de Kock, Heinrich Klaasen, Pite van Biljon, Kyle Verreynne.
- Pace bowlers (10):Junior Dala, Daryn Dupavillon, Beuran Hendricks, Sisanda Magala, Anrich Nortje, Lungi Ngidi, Kagiso Rabada, Lutho Sipamla, Glenton Stuurman, Lizaad Williams.
- Spin bowlers (3): Bjorn Fortuin, Keshav Maharaj, Tabraiz Shamsi.
The head coach of the national team is Mark Boucher. Neil McKenzie coaches the batsmen, and Paul Harris and Chari Langeveldt train the bowlers. Justin Ontong is responsible for fielding.
South Africa national cricket team: uniform, logo, nickname
The most famous nickname of the South African national cricket team (South Africa) is “King Protea“. It comes from the name of the national flower of the country. By the way, it is also depicted on the team’s official logo, which is made in green and gold colors.
In Tests, the South African national cricket team plays in a white uniform. A headdress in the form of a cap can be green, and a sun hat can be white. In such tournaments as One Day International, athletes can enter the field in the form of green and dark green shades. At the same time, players go to T20 in green pants but in a yellow shirt with green lines running along the edge of the sleeves.
By the way, it is interesting that once, the team held an action aimed at drawing public attention to the disease of breast cancer. Several matches were played by athletes in the form of pink color.
Since 2016, the sponsors of the South African national cricket team (South Africa) are New Balance and Standard Bank.
The South AfricaNational Cricket Team is one of the popular teams in the world, which is very interesting for fans to follow. We regularly publish cricket tips for betting, including for the Proteas.
