Cricket in South Africa

In 1814, the Cape Colony was formally ceded to Britain by the Dutch after two previous occupations by British forces during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. It is believed that cricket was first introduced to South Africa during the first occupation, an expedition led by General Sir James Craig. An accompanying officer, Charles Anguish, had been an early member of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), playing 32 first-class matches before he departed for the Cape in 1795. It is supposed that Anguish organised inter-military matches upon his arrival. The earliest definite reference to cricket is dated to 1808, during the second occupation. The Cape Town Gazette and African Advertiser carried a notice that:

“A grand match at cricket will be played for 1,000 dollars aside on Tuesday, January 5, 1808, between the officers of the artillery mess, having Colonel Austen of the 60th Regiment, and the officers of the Colony, with General Clavering. The wickets are to be pitched at 10 o'clock.”

The first club known to have been formally established was at Port Elizabeth in 1843, with the land allocated still in use today as St George’s Park. In 1876, Port Elizabeth presented the ‘Champions Bat’, a competition between towns in the Cape; initially Cape Town, Grahamstown, King William’s Town and Port Elizabeth itself, the rudimental beginnings of domestic cricket in South Africa.

South African XI 1888-89

The years 1888 and 1889 are pivotal ones for the emergence of modern cricket in South Africa. Two major venues were presented, Newlands in Cape Town and the Old Wanderers in Johannesburg, and an English team arrived for the first overseas tour of South Africa. In March 1889, two matches were played between England and South African XI, in what retrospectively would be determined to be both the inaugural Test played by South Africa, and the inaugural first-class match played in South Africa. South Africa lost both matches but became the world’s third Test nation.[1]

In December 1889, first-class domestic cricket began, albeit on a challenge only footing, when Port Elizabeth Cricket Club hosted Natal at St George's Park. Sir Donald Currie, the founder of the Castle Shipping Line who had sponsored the English tour, donated a trophy for the domestic champions. The ‘Currie Cup’ was first awarded to Kimberley at the end of the 1889-90 season. From the 1892-93 season, first-class cricket gradually emerged into the more familiar province-based competition in a championship format.[2]

In 1907, Abe Bailey, the President of the South African Cricket Association, wrote a letter to the Marylebone Cricket Club’s secretary, Sir Francis Lacey, and suggested the formation of an ‘Imperial Cricket Board’. Responsible for the formulation of rules, regulation and overall governance of international matches played between Australia, England and South Africa. Although Australia initially rejected the arrangement Bailey continued his lobbying, and during Australia's tour of England in 1909, he eventually received agreement. On 15 June 1909, representatives from Australia, England and South Africa met at Lord’s and founded the Imperial Cricket Conference. Subsequent meetings were held that agreed on rules amongst the nations and the first Tri-Test series was to be held in England in 1912.

The South African War, as well as the First World War, disrupted cricket and led to its suspension. After the Armistice in 1918, South African cricket resumed and continuously toured and received visits from England and Australia. Although having a somewhat disappointing period during the 1920s, in the final pre-war decade South Africa became a consistently high-quality and competitive team. During this time, cricket in South Africa began to spread outside the British settler diaspora, particularly in the Afrikaner and Indian communities. However, cricket remained strictly, although not legally, segregated with various national bodies governing cricket for the different racial groups. First-class domestic and international cricket was white only, and would only play other white Test nations (India and the West Indies joined the ICC in 1926).

Jimmy Sinclair, who holds the record for the highest strike rate in the history of Test cricket

Suspended once again during the Second World War, cricket in South Africa resumed after 1945. The introduction of apartheid (separation of racial groups by strict legal enforcement) following the 1948 General Election did not immediately affect the sport, and it continued to prosper and welcome visiting teams.

South Africa left the Commonwealth after a successful 1960 South African republican referendum on 31 May 1961, and by extension, they also left the ICC as membership was entwined. Despite the rules being changed to allow "associate members" in 1964, South Africa did not reapply but continued to play against Australia, England and New Zealand without much difficulty.[3]

As decolonisation accelerated, and international moral public opinion began to change away ideas of racial, particularly white, superiority, South Africa became increasingly isolated. The anti-apartheid movement demanded that South Africa face boycotts, including in sport. Within the ICC, non-white members, particularly India, protested loudly about the discrimination their own diaspora received in South Africa, including the policies of apartheid which now legally barred non-whites from playing Test cricket for South Africa and the refusal of accepting touring teams that fielded non-whites. In 1970, the ICC banned South Africa from participating in internationally recognised cricket.[4] This decision, arguably when South Africa was the strongest team in the world, cut short the Test careers of hugely talented players, such as Graeme Pollock, Barry Richards and Mike Procter. Many promising players later emigrated in order to play, whilst others never played Test cricket despite strong domestic first-class records.[5]

The effect of the international boycott had significant impacts on the domestic game and cricket development. Standards, attendances and participation fell, along with South Africa missing out on the revolutionary changes to the game. The beginnings of limited-overs matches, including the new World Cup, cost South Africa financially, as well as evolutionary. Although South Africa tried to desegregate cricket in 1976 with the formation of a non-racial governing body, the South African Cricket Union (SACU), the ICC maintained their ban.  

Throughout the 1980s, ‘Rebel Tours’ were sponsored in which international, although not official, teams would tour South Africa playing Test and limited-overs.[6] Between 1982 and 1990, seven tours were staged by four teams; Australia, England, the West Indies and Sri Lanka. Players joining ‘rebel tours’ ran considerable risks to their own careers and reputations, with many facing a limited or lifetime ban from cricket upon their return. As an incentive, at a time when cricketers were not paid a great deal, the SACU offered substantial amounts of money to rebel teams.[7]

In July 1991, as South Africa negotiated a political way toward majority rule, the ICC reinstated South Africa as a Test nation and authorised the playing of international matches. By November, South Africa had played its first ODI, and first sanctioned match since 1970, against India in Calcutta, before playing their first Test match against the West Indies in April 1992. During the rest of the decade and early 21st Century, the national side gained a reputation as "chokers" and underachievers due to reaching the semi-finals of the World Cup four times but failing to progress, despite having hugely talented players, such as Hansie Cronje, as well as favourable win percentages.[8] In 1998, South Africa won the inaugural Champions Trophy. To date, this remains the only silverware won by the men’s national team. Although South Africa had spent 22 years away from ICC regulated cricket, the national side quickly re-confirmed their place as a highly competitive side, with particular notoriety in fast bowling.

Domestically, cricket in South Africa responded to the political changes that had happened with the election of the ANC in 1994, and the return of South Africa to the Commonwealth of Nations on 1 June 1994 as a Commonwealth republic, particularly the changing of team names in the Castle Cup (formerly Currie). Orange Free State become Free State (1995–96), Eastern Transvaal became Easterns (1995–96), Western Transvaal became North West (1996–97), Transvaal became Gauteng (1997–98), Northern Transvaal became Northerns (1997–98) and Natal became KwaZulu-Natal (1998–99). The competition itself changed name for sponsorship reasons, first becoming the Castle Cup in 1990-91, before being the SuperSport Series in 1996-97. In 2004-05, the format of South African domestic cricket changed entirely and broke with the past. The former 11 provincial teams were replaced by six, fully professional, franchise teams. Cape Cobras, the Eagles (later the Knights), the Warriors, the Lions, the Titans and the Dolphins were created and now represented the highest form of domestic cricket, both in first-class and limited-overs.

In the 21st Century, cricket in South Africa has evolved and significantly diversified. In July 2006, Ashwell Prince at the age of 29, became the first non-white man to captain the South African cricket team when he deputised for Graeme Smith. Racial quotas were first introduced and later rescinded in 2007, although were re-established in 2016, despite being highly controversial, particularly criticised by the Institute of Race Relations in South Africa.[9] A South African team must now have an average minimum of six non-white players, of which two must be black African, in matches over the season.[10] This has led to some highly capable white players emigrating from South Africa claiming they were disadvantaged by positive discrimination. Kevin Pietersen, who was born in Pietermaritzburg, left South Africa to play for England, later becoming one of the world’s best batsman.[11]

Since readmission in 1991, South Africa has been a consistently strong team and the equal of any Test nation. Although major silverware has consistently eluded the team, the early 2010s saw a period of Test dominance, achieving top position in the ICC rankings in 2012. Eight days later, in August 2012, South Africa became the first team to top the rankings in all three formats of the game.[12] The No.1 spot was later regained by South Africa in 2014 after losing it to Australia earlier in the year.

The South African Women’s Team made their Test debut in 1960 against England, becoming the fourth team to play at such a level. The ICC boycott on South African cricket also affected the women’s game, with the team not playing an international fixture until 1997. Only 12 ICC Women’s Tests have been played by South Africa, winning only once, and the last being played in 2014. As the game has developed, the ODI and T20 have become far more popular and financially rewarding, pushing Women’s Test cricket to the edge of viability. Playing their first ODI against Ireland in 1997, South Africa have a 50% win rate, being semi-finalists twice, in the 2000 and 2017 World Cup. In T20, the team first competed in Australia in 2007, and have since played over 100 matches and six World Cups. Being semi-finalists twice, in 2014 and 2020, the team are currently ranked fifth by the ICC, with a win rate of 44%.

Test: Having hosted and played their first international first-class game against England in 1888-89, South Africa developed into a competitive team by the start of the 20th century. Arguably the best team in the world in 1970 when the ICC imposed an international ban due to apartheid, since readmittance in 1991 South Africa have reasserted themselves as a strong team. Although previously holding the number one position in the international rankings, as of 2021, the Proteas are currently ranked fourth in the world.[18]

The South African touring cricket team at The Oval, 4th Test, 7–11 August 2008

ODI: Playing their first One Day International against India soon after readmittance in 1991, South Africa have reached the ODI World Cup Semi-Finals four times, most recently in 2015, but never progressed further. With a current high win percentage of 63%, the team’s wider fortunes have also fluctuated and currently sit at third in the ODI rankings, although having previously been number one.[19]

T20I: South Africa played their first T20I against New Zealand in 2005. Much like the other national squads, the T20I teams' fortunes have varied and have been close to silverware. Appearing in 6 T20 World Cups, the Proteas have been semi-finalists twice, most recently in 2014. With a current win rate of 56%, they are also ranked fifth in the world as well as previously being number one.[20]

Test: Making their debut in 1960 against England, the women’s team did not play any international fixtures between 1972 and 1997. Despite being the oldest form of women’s cricket in South Africa, the Proteas have played just 12 Test matches, with the most recent being in 2014 and winning only one. With a win rate of only 8%, T20 has taken on a far more prominent and financially rewarding role, almost ending women's Test cricket as a viable entity.[21]

ODI: The women’s team played their first One Day International against Ireland in 1997, and have a current win rate of roughly 50% over nearly 200 matches. Playing in six Women’s World Cups, the Proteas have been semi-finalists twice, in 2000 and 2017, although never progressing further. South Africa are currently third in the ICC World ODI rankings.[22]

T20I: The Proteas’ first T20I was in 2007 against Australia, and have since played over 100 matches. Competing in 6 Women’s T20 World Cups, South Africa have been semi-finalists in 2014 and in 2020. Ranked fifth in the ICC table, South Africa have a T20I win rate of 44%.[23]

South Africa's first-class competition began in 1889–1890, initially on a challenge only basis rather than a structured championship. Sir Donald Currie, who had sponsored the first English tour of South Africa earlier that year, donated a trophy for the domestic champions, the Currie Cup. From the 1892-93 season, first-class domestic cricket in South Africa gradually emerged into the more familiar province-based champion season. This competition format, with occasional changes and additions, survived until the 2004/05 season when the domestic structure was remodelled across all three formats to introduce six, entirely professional, franchise teams.

In 2021, Cricket South Africa announced a return to the traditional province based domestic structure. 15 first-class teams now play in two divisions, determined by promotion and relegation.

Eight teams make up the first division, with 16 contracted players each, and seven teams the second division, with 11 contracted players each, taking the total to 205.

CSA believes that the new format will provide more opportunities for players to compete at a high standard just below international cricket, in turn providing a wider talent pool for the national selectors. It is hoped that wider selection of teams at the highest domestic level will help increase playing opportunities of all races, particularly those currently underrepresented.[24]

South Africa's major domestic competitions are the CSA 4-Day Series (four day first-class competition) and the Momentum One Day Cup (List A one-day competition). Division 1 will take part in the Mzanzi Super League (T20 competition), whilst Division 2 compete in a separate T20 tournament.[25]

For women, CSA Provincial Cricket is currently the top level of cricket in South Africa, however, it remains semi-professional.[28] Since 2017, South African women have played in the Women's T20 Super League. Further developing the women’s game at a high level, CSA has said that the competition will allow top performing players from across the under-19s and provincial cricket to continue and improve domestic standards, as well as ultimately strengthening the national limited-over sides. As of 2021, there have not been any reports to indicate women’s domestic cricket will be affected by the restructuring announced for the men's game.[29]

• Brown, Geoff and Hogsbjerg, Christian. Apartheid is not a Game: Remembering the Stop the Seventy Tour campaign. London: Redwords, 2020. ISBN 9781912926589.