South Africa

Shukri Conrad, South Africa’s Test coach, has hit back at criticism of his team reaching the World Test Championship (WTC) final after a cycle in which they faced neither Australia nor England, and played only 12 Tests. They were the first team to book a spot at Lord’s after they reeled off six successive wins

A return of 6 for 52 should not be described in terms other than glowing, but even Marco Jansen will tell you that none of the four deliveries he got wickets with at SuperSport Park on day three of the first Test against Pakistan on Saturday were a true reflection of his abilities. “I’ve struggled

The numbers say Aiden Markram has had exactly the kind of Test year he always has. Currently on 499 runs, he averages 35.64 in 2024 which is only a fraction lower than his overall average of 35.75, and more than the 34.60 in 2021 and 33.60 in 2018, his other two profitable years. Before this

Big picture – Can Pakistan bring ODI momentum into Test series? There’s one other Boxing Day Test, but this one is big too. If South Africa win at SuperSport Park, they will guarantee a place in the World Test Championship (WTC) final. If Pakistan win, they will keep outside hopes (so outside that they also

South Africa will find a way to “pull together” for the Champions Trophy 2025 after suffering their first ODI whitewash at home and without any more match practice with a full-strength squad ahead of the tournament, according to white-ball coach Rob Walter. After overseeing the 3-0 defeat to Pakistan, Walter has been left with an

South Africa have suffered another bowling injury with Ottneil Baartman ruled out of the third ODI against Pakistan with a right knee problem. Baartman is the second bowler after Keshav Maharaj who’s injured in the ODI series and the sixth seamer this summer to be sidelined. Gerald Coetzee, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Lizaad Williams and

Maharaj’s injury adds to an already lengthy list of missing bowlers for South Africa. The hosts are already without Anrich Nortje (fractured toe), Gerald Coetzee (groin), Lungi Ngidi (hip), Nandre Burger (lower back), and Wiaan Mulder (broken finger). Moreover, Maharaj recently bowled South Africa to a final-day win against Sri Lanka in the second Test

South Africa have gambled on the fitness of Keshav Maharaj and Wiaan Mulder, and included both in the Test squad to play Pakistan over the festive season. Maharaj suffered an 11th-hour groin strain in the warm-ups for the first ODI in Paarl on Tuesday and had to be removed from the team sheet just before

Dane Piedt and Senuran Muthusamy are the spinners in contention for the Boxing Day Test, if Maharaj is ruled out. Batting allrounder Neil Brand, who bowls left-arm spin, and legspinner Shaun von Berg also made Test appearances this year for South Africa. Left-arm wristspinner Tabraiz Shamsi, who last played first-class cricket in 2021, could be

England will make a late decision on Kate Cross’s fitness for the one-off Test against South Africa in Bloemfontein, but have opted to play an extra seamer either way, as thoughts begin to turn to their upcoming Ashes challenge in January. Cross, England’s senior seamer, bowled just five balls in Wednesday’s third ODI at Potchefstroom

Nortje last played in the Abu Dhabi T10 earlier this month, but has not played an international match since the T20 World Cup final in June. He was expected to be part of white-ball coach Rob Walter’s ODI plans, with an eye on next year’s Champions Trophy, but is unlikely to be part of the

South Africa have selected their strongest available squad for the upcoming three-match ODI series against Pakistan in order to make full use of their last opportunity to play together ahead of next year’s Champions Trophy. Though South Africa will play a tri-series in Pakistan, which also includes New Zealand, in February next year, those matches

Toss England chose to bowl vs South Africa South Africa responded to their six-wicket defeat to England by making four changes for Wednesday’s series decider in Potchefstroom. Tazmin Brits, Sune Luus, Sinalo Jafta and Ayanda Hlubi were all left out, and Lara Goodall, Anneke Bosch, Mieke de Ridder and Masabata Klaas came in to the

South Africa 358 and 317 (Bavuma 66, Markram 55, Jayasuriya 5-129) beat Sri Lanka 328 and 238 (Dhananjaya de Silva 50, Maharaj 5-76) by 109 runs South Africa have moved to the top of the World Test Championship (WTC) table after a 109-run win over Sri Lanka at St George’s Park. They swept the series

Sri Lanka 328 and 205 for 5 (Dhananjaya 39*, Kusal 39*, Paterson 2-33, Maharaj 2-62) need 143 runs to beat South Africa 358 and 317 (Bavuma 66, Markram 55, Jayasuriya 5-129) South Africa took major strides towards wrapping up a series whitewash on day four in Gqeberha, dismissing Sri Lanka’s top five after setting a

South Africa will “go back to old-fashioned Test cricket” as they look to take five wickets to complete a win on the final day at St George’s Park. This, after they “went searching” in the last 90 minutes of the fourth afternoon. A slightly frustrated Keshav Maharaj, who was the last to strike in the

England 137 for 4 (Beaumont 34, Bouchier 33, Dercksen 2-22) beat South Africa 135 (Tryon 45, Dean 4-45, Ecclestone 3-27, Filer 3-32) by six wickets Charlie Dean became the first England bowler to claim a hat-trick in a women’s ODI for 25 years, as South Africa were routed by six wickets at Kingsmead. Having lost

Sri Lanka fancy their chances chasing “anything around or below 300,” on a wicket that is “playing really well,” at St George’s Park, according to former captain Angelo Mathews. Though he acknowledged South Africa, at 221 ahead with seven wickets in hand, have the advantage, Mathews brought fighting talk to the third day’s post-play press

Innings Sri Lanka 328 (Nissanka 89, Kamindu 48, Mathews 44, Chandimal 44, Paterson 5-71, Maharaj 2-65, Jansen 2-100) trail South Africa 358 by 30 runs Dane Paterson completed the first five-for of his Test career as South Africa bowled Sri Lanka out for 328 to take a 30-run first-innings lead. Sri Lanka lost six wickets

Former international JP Duminy has stepped down from his role as South Africa’s white-ball batting coach for personal reasons. Duminy was appointed in March 2023 as part of Rob Walter’s support staff when Cricket South Africa (CSA) confirmed new coaches after the Mark Boucher era. Duminy was previously head coach of the SA20 side Paarl

Kyle Verreynne will return to Nottinghamshire in 2025 and will hope that the first part of his stint ends up being preparation for South Africa’s potential involvement in the World Test Championship (WTC) final. Verreynne, the wicketkeeper-batter, played three games for Notts in the County Championship last year, and scored 248 runs including an unbeaten

In the absence of Aiden Markram, who is currently involved in the Test series against Sri Lanka, Heinrich Klaasen will lead South Africa in their home T20I series against Pakistan. Apart from Markram, several other all-format players – such as Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada and Tristan Stubbs – will miss the Pakistan T20Is,

Ryan Rickelton doubted himself. He wondered if, after being among the top run-scorers in domestic cricket for several seasons, he could transfer that talent to the international stage. More importantly, he doubted if, on 98 in his first innings in his preferred position at No.3, he had hit the ball and been saved from an

Lunch South Africa 82 for 3 (Rickelton 29*, Bavuma 27*, Kumara 2-17) vs Sri Lanka Lahiru Kumara became the fifth Sri Lankan fast bowler to take 100 Test wickets on a tense opening morning at St George’s Park, where South Africa were made to work after their decision to bat first. Sri Lanka’s seamers threatened

A decade ago (allow us the leniency of three weeks because it was actually Boxing Day 2014), a young Temba Bavuma made his Test debut at St George’s Park to mark one of the most significant full circle moments in South Africa cricket. Bavuma, who traces his roots back to the Eastern Cape, was the

South Africa 189 for 4 (Wolvaardt 59*, de Klerk 48*) beat England 186 (Dean 47*, Knight 40, Dercksen 3-16, Kapp 3-24) by six wickets Allrounders Marizanne Kapp and Annerie Dercksen were at the fore as South Africa kickstarted the women’s ODI series against England with a six-wicket win in Kimberley. The duo shared six wickets

Big picture: Can Sri Lanka avoid another collapse? The headline is that both teams are in with a shot at making the World Test Championship final, but neither have secured a place. Unhelpfully for South Africa, the WTC points system doesn’t reward hefty winning margins, so although they crushed Sri Lanka by 233 runs in

In a huge blow for South Africa, fast bowler Gerald Coetzee has been ruled out of the second Test against Sri Lanka in Gqeberha as well as the upcoming all-format series against Pakistan, due to a groin injury. Coetzee, who picked up the injury while bowling on day four of the Durban Test against Sri

Gerald Coetzee could be a doubt for the second Test against Sri Lanka after picking up a groin niggle during the first Test in Durban, which South Africa won by 233 runs on Saturday. Coetzee bowled in the morning session, beginning proceedings with Kagiso Rabada, but stopped after a three-over spell. His second spell of

LunchSri Lanka 42 and 220 for 6 (Chandimal 69*, Mendis 12*, Jansen 2-45) trail South Africa 191 and 366 for 5 dec by 295 runs Dinesh Chandimal and Dhananjaya de Silva brought up half-centuries in a 95-run sixth-wicket partnership as Sri Lanka kept South Africa at bay for 104 minutes on the fourth morning in