"දකුණු අප්රිකා ජාතික ක්රිකට් කණ්ඩායම" හි සංශෝධන අතර වෙනස්කම්
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| test status year = 1889
| current captain = [[ෆෆ් ඩු ප්ලෙසී]]
| current coach = [[රසල් ඩොමිංගෝ]]
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| t_pants = 006902
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The '''South African national cricket team''', nicknamed the '''Proteas''' (after South Africa's [[Floral emblem|national flower]], the [[Protea cynaroides|king protea]]), represents [[South Africa]] in [[international cricket]]. It is administered by [[Cricket South Africa]]. South Africa is a full member of the [[International Cricket Council]] (ICC) with [[Test cricket|Test]] and [[One Day International]] (ODI) status.
As of 27 November 2016, South Africa has played 405 Test matches, winning 148 and losing 135.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/records/team/results_summary.html?class=1;id=3;type=team |title=Records / South Africa / Test matches / Result summary |publisher=[[ESPNcricinfo]] |accessdate=27 November 2016}}</ref> The team has played 564 ODIs, winning 348, losing 194 and tying six, with 16 [[Result (cricket)#No result|no-result]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/records/team/results_summary.html?class=2;id=3;type=team |title=Records / South Africa / One-Day Internationals / Result summary |publisher=[[ESPNcricinfo]] |accessdate=7 November 2016}}</ref> Finally, it has played 91 [[Twenty20 International]]s (T20Is), winning 54 and losing 36, with one no-result.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/records/team/results_summary.html?class=3;id=3;type=team |title=Records / South Africa / Twenty20 Internationals / Result summary |publisher=[[ESPNcricinfo]] |accessdate=7 November 2016}}</ref>
On 20 August 2012, South Africa became the top ranked team in test cricket for the first time. 8 days later, on 28 August 2012, it became the first team to top the rankings in all [[Cricket#Types of matches|three formats of the game]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.espncricinfo.com/england-v-south-africa-2012/content/story/579730.html |title=Amla ton leads SA to third No. 1 spot |last=McGlashan |first=Andrew |date=28 August 2012 |publisher=[[ESPNcricinfo]] |accessdate=25 September 2013}}</ref>
As of 28 September 2017, South Africa is ranked second [[ICC Test Championship#Current rankings|in Tests]], first [[ICC ODI Championship#Current rankings|in ODIs]] and sixth [[ICC T20I Championship#Current rankings|in T20Is]] by the ICC.<ref name="ICCrankings">{{cite web|url=http://www.espncricinfo.com/rankings/content/page/211271.html |title=ICC rankings – ICC Test, ODI and Twenty20 rankings |publisher=[[ESPNcricinfo]] |accessdate=2 January 2017}}</ref>
==History==
European colonisation of southern Africa began on Tuesday 6 April 1652 when the [[Dutch East India Company]] established a settlement called the [[Cape Colony]] on [[Table Bay]], near present-day [[Cape Town]], and continued to expand into the hinterland through the 17th and 18th centuries. It was founded as a victualling station for the Dutch East Indies trade route but soon acquired an importance of its own due to its good farmland and mineral wealth. There was no significant British interest in South Africa until 1795, when British troops under [[Sir James Craig]] seized Cape Colony during the [[French Revolutionary War]], the [[Netherlands]] having fallen to [[Napoleon Bonaparte|Napoleon]] the same year. After the British seized Cape Colony a second time in 1806 to counteract French interests in the region in the course of the [[Napoleonic Wars]], Cape Colony was turned into a permanent British settlement. As in most other parts of the world, British colonization brought in its wake the introduction of the game of [[cricket]], which began to develop rapidly. The first ever recorded cricket match in South Africa took place in 1808, in Cape Town between two service teams for a prize of one thousand rix-dollars.<ref>[http://bleacherreport.com/articles/79768-history-of-south-african-sport-vi-cricket History of South African sport - Cricket] BleacherReport. November 9, 2008. Retrieved 16 June 2017.</ref>
The oldest cricket club in South Africa is the [[Port Elizabeth Cricket Club]], founded in 1843, one of the oldest cricket clubs in the world. In 1862, an annual fixture "Mother Country v Colonial Born" was staged for the first time in Cape Town. By the late 1840s, the game had spread from its early roots in Cape Colony and permeated the [[Afrikaners]] in the territories of [[Orange Free State]] and [[South African Republic|Transvaal]], who were descendants of the original Dutch settlers and were not considered naturally a cricket-playing people. In 1876, Port Elizabeth presented the "Champion Bat" for competition between South African towns. The first tournament was staged in [[Port Elizabeth]]. [[King Williams Town Cricket Club|King Williams Town]] won the tournament in 1876 and the following year, in 1877, too.<ref>[http://bleacherreport.com/articles/79768-history-of-south-african-sport-vi-cricket History of South African sport - Cricket] BleacherReport. November 9, 2008. Retrieved 16 June 2017.</ref>
In 1888, [[Donald Currie|Sir Donald Currie]] sponsored the first visiting team, [[England national cricket team|England]]. The [[English cricket team in South Africa in 1888–89|touring team]] was arranged by [[Robert Warton (umpire)|Major R.G. Warton]], and captained by future [[Hollywood]] actor [[C. Aubrey Smith]]. Sir Currie also created the [[Sunfoil Series|Currie Cup or Kimberley Cup]] in 1888 that was a competition among the different states in South Africa, the first [[First-class cricket|first-class]] tournament in South Africa. The inaugural competition was won by [[Gauteng cricket team|Transvaal]]. The tour marked the advent of both first-class and [[Test cricket]] in South Africa.<ref>[http://bleacherreport.com/articles/79768-history-of-south-african-sport-vi-cricket History of South African sport - Cricket] BleacherReport. November 9, 2008. Retrieved 16 June 2017.</ref>
In 1889, South Africa became the third test-playing nation when it played against England at Port Elizabeth.<ref>[http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/current/match/62426.html South Africa's debut Test match 1889 scorecard] ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 17 June 2017.</ref> Soon after, a 2nd test was played at Cape Town. However, these two matches, as was the case with all early matches involving the erstwhile 'South African XI' against all touring teams, did not receive the status of official 'Test' matches until South Africa formed the [[International Cricket Council|Imperial Cricket Conference]] with England and Australia in 1906. Neither did the touring English team organized by Major Warton even claim to be representing the [[England national cricket team|English cricket team]]; the matches were marketed as 'Major Warton's XI' v/s 'South African XI' instead. Even the players who participated did not know that they had played international cricket, and the side that played South Africa was regarded to be of weak county strength. The team was captained by C.A. Smith, a decent medium pacer from [[Sussex County Cricket Club|Sussex]], and for two of the Major Warton's XI, [[Basil Grieve]] and [[Charles Coventry (British Army officer)|The Honourable Charles Coventry]], the two Tests constituted their entire first-class career. Even so, the nascent, fledgling 'South African XI' was very weak, losing both tests comfortably to England, English spinner [[Johnny Briggs (cricketer)|Johnny Briggs]] claiming 15-28 in the second Test at Cape Town.<ref>[http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/436989.html The ignorant internationals] Martin Williamson, ESPNCricinfo. 28 November 2009. Retrieved 11 November 2011.</ref> However, [[Albert Rose-Innes]] did make history by becoming the first South African bowler to take a five-wicket haul in Tests at Port Elizabeth.
South Africa's early Test record remains the worst among all current Test-playing nations with ten defeats and just a solitary draw from their first eleven tests,<ref>[http://www.cricketcountry.com/articles/south-africa-beat-england-in-a-thriller-to-achieve-their-maiden-test-win-86197 South Africa beat England in a thriller to achieve their maiden Test win] Cricket Country. 8 January 2016. Retrieved 17 June 2017.</ref> and it was not until 1904 that they began to emerge as a quality international team. They recorded their first Test win against England in 1906, which took them 17 years. The low point of this barren early period for the South African team was an [[English cricket team in South Africa in 1895–96|English tour of 1895-96]], where South Africa was humiliated 3-0 in 3 Tests by an English side for the first time remotely comparable to a full-strength team, losing all the tests by 288 runs,<ref>[http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/4/4478.html England vs South Africa 1st Test 1895-96 Scorecard] CricketArchive. Retrieved 17 June 2016.</ref> an innings and 197 runs,<ref>[http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/4/4485.html England vs South Africa 2nd Test 1895-96 Scorecard] CricketArchive. Retrieved 17 June 2017.</ref> and by an innings and 32 runs<ref>[http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/4/4488.html England vs South Africa 3rd Test 1895-96 Scorecard] CricketArchive. Retrieved 17 June 2017</ref> respectively. The touring English team, arranged by [[Martin Hawke, 7th Baron Hawke|Lord Hawke]], consisted of four of the best cricketers of the world at the time: [[Tom Hayward]], [[C.B. Fry]], [[George Lohmann]] and [[Sam
In the early 1900s, the first world-class South African cricket team emerged, comprising stars such [[Bonnor Middleton]], [[Jimmy Sinclair]], [[Charlie Llewellyn]], [[Dave Nourse]], [[Louis Tancred]], [[Aubrey Faulkner]], [[Reggie Schwarz]], [[Percy Sherwell]], [[Tip Snooke]], [[Bert Vogler]], and [[Gordon White (cricketer)|Gordon White]], players who were capable of giving any international teams a run for their money. In addition to possessing batsmen such as Sinclair (the batsman with the highest [[strike rate]] in Test history), Nourse, Tancred, all-rounder Faulkner, Sherwell, Snooke, and White, the South Africans developed the world's first (and arguably greatest ever) spin attack which specialized in [[googly]]. Greatest among the South African googly quartet was Schwarz, who inspired by English googly bowler [[Bernard Bosanquet (cricketer)|Bernard Bosanquet]], regarded as the inventor of the googly, developed into the most devastating googly bowler of his time. He taught diligently the secrets of the googly to allrounder Faulkner, medium-pacer Vogler and specialist batsman White, and together the four formed a quartet which began to lead South Africa to unprecedented heights in Test cricket.<ref>[http://www.cricketcountry.com/articles/south-africa-beat-england-in-a-thriller-to-achieve-their-maiden-test-win-86197 South Africa beat England in a thriller to achieve their maiden Test win] Cricket Country. 8 January 2016. Retrieved 17 June 2017.</ref> Another important force during this period for South Africa were the all-round performances of Faulkner and Llewellyn. Faulkner came to be regarded as the first great South African all-rounders in the international game, regarded by some as even the greatest all-rounder in the world in the pre-1st World War period.<ref>[http://www.cricketcountry.com/articles/aubrey-faulkner-the-first-of-the-great-south-african-all-rounders-76039 Aubrey Faulkner: The first of the great South African all-rounders] Cricket Country. 17 December 2015. Retrieved 17 June 2017.</ref>
The [[Australia national cricket team|Australian cricket team]] [[Australian cricket team in South Africa in 1902–03|toured]] South Africa in 1902, with an extremely strong squad comprising many prominent members of 'The Golden Age of Australian Cricket' such as [[Victor Trumper]], [[Joe Darling]], [[Clem Hill]], [[Syd Gregory]], [[Monty Noble]], [[Reggie Duff]], [[Warwick Armstrong]], [[Hugh Trumble]], and [[Ernie Jones (Australian sportsman)|Ernie Jones]]. Though South Africa lost the 3-match Test series 2-0, they managed to avoid defeat for the first time by drawing the first game at Johannesburg, even forcing the touring side to follow on thanks to some outstanding all-round performances from Llewellyn.<ref>[http://www.cricketcountry.com/articles/south-africa-beat-england-in-a-thriller-to-achieve-their-maiden-test-win-86197 South Africa beat England in a thriller to achieve their maiden Test win] Cricket Country. 8 January 2016. Retrieved 17 June 2017.</ref>
In 1904, South Africa were invited by the [[Marylebone Cricket Club]] for a [[South African cricket team in England in 1904|tour of England]] to play a series of first-class matches, the team not being regarded as of sufficiently high standard to play official Tests. The side managed to win ten out of their twenty-two matches, including a thrilling [[Result (cricket)#Tie|tie]] with [[Middlesex County Cricket Club|Middlesex]], who managed to finish among the top four in that year's [[County Championship]], due to some magic weaved by Schwarz through his googlies. He repeated his heroics against an all-England XI, whom South Africa recorded an upset victory against by 189 runs. Unfortunately, the match was not accorded official Test status.<ref>[http://www.cricketcountry.com/articles/south-africa-beat-england-in-a-thriller-to-achieve-their-maiden-test-win-86197 South Africa beat England in a thriller to achieve their maiden Test win] Cricket Country. 8 January 2016. Retrieved 17 June 2017.</ref>
In 1906, England made a reciprocal [[English cricket team in South Africa in 1905–06|tour]] to South Africa, which this time consisted of a 5-match official Test series. The touring English team was second-string team, with only [[Colin Blythe]], [[Schofield Haigh]] and [[Jack Crawford (cricketer)|JN Crawford]] being those who could be considered regulars of the England team. Nevertheless, South Africa were still not favourites going into the series. However, in a shocking result at [[Johannesburg]], the inspired South Africans, led by Sherwell and their googly quartet, defeated England by 1 wicket, thereby recording her first Test win. Schwarz, Vogler and Faulkner led the way for South Africa.<ref>[http://www.cricketcountry.com/articles/south-africa-beat-england-in-a-thriller-to-achieve-their-maiden-test-win-86197 South Africa beat England in a thriller to achieve their maiden Test win] Cricket Country. 8 January 2016. Retrieved 17 June 2017.</ref> Afterwards, South Africa decimated England by 9 wickets in the 2nd Test at Johannesburg, a 243-run win in the 3rd test at the same venue as well as an innings-and-16 runs victory at Cape Town in the 5th Test to secure a 4-1 decimation of England. Schwarz picked up 18 in the series at 17.22, Faulkner 14 at 19.42. Vogler was not so successful with 9 wickets at 22.33.<ref>[http://www.cricketcountry.com/articles/south-africa-beat-england-in-a-thriller-to-achieve-their-maiden-test-win-86197 South Africa beat England in a thriller to achieve their maiden Test win] Cricket Country. 8 January 2016. Retrieved 17 June 2017.</ref> The series is widely recognized as the one which heralded the arrival of South Africa as a major force on the international cricket scene. The MCC duly complied by inviting the South African team to [[South African cricket team in England in 1907|tour]] England in 1907 for the first time to play official Tests. Though the series finished 1-0 to England with two draws, the quartet of Schwarz, Faulkner, Vogler and White were praised for their exceptional quality of googly bowling,<ref>{{cite book |editor-last=Green |editor-first=Benny |title=Wisden Anthology 1900–1940 |publisher=[[Queen Anne Press]] |location=London |year=1980 |isbn=0-362-00513-3 |chapter=South African bowling, 1907 |last=Foster |first=R. E. |authorlink=R. E. Foster |pages=44–47}}</ref> and Schwarz and Vogler came to be recognized as [[Wisden Cricketers of the Year|''Wisden'' Cricketers of the Year]] the following year - the first South Africans to win the prestigious award.
England's next [[English cricket team in South Africa in 1909–10|tour]] of South Africa came about in 1909-10. Once again, South Africa was dominant, winning the 5-match Test series 3-2, with victories in the first Test at Johannesburg by 19 runs,<ref>[https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/8/8050.html South Africa vs England 1st Test Scorecard 1909-10] CricketArchive. Retrieved 18 June 2017</ref> second Test at [[Durban]] by 95 runs,<ref>[https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/8/8057.html South Africa vs England 2nd Test Scorecard 1909-10] CricketArchive. Retrieved 18 June 2017</ref> and by 4 wickets in the 4th Test at Cape Town.<ref>[https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/8/8075.html South Africa vs England 4th Test Scorecard 1909-10] CricketArchive. Retrieved 18 June 2017</ref> South Africa's captain was [[Tip Snooke]].
The South African cricket team [[South African cricket team in Australia in 1910–11|toured]] Australia for the first time in 1910-11. The Australian team was then considered as the leading cricket team of the era, in what has been described as 'The Golden Age of Australian Cricket'. Led by the legendary [[Clem Hill]] and the batting exploits of [[Victor Trumper]], Australia won the 5-match Test series comfortably 4-1, though South Africa made history by recording their first ever overseas Test victory, as well as a maiden Test victory against Australia at the 3rd Test in [[Adelaide Oval]].<ref>[http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/current/match/62508.html Australia vs South Africa 3rd Test Scorecard 1910-11] ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 18 June 2017.</ref> The tour was significant for the rise of [[Billy Zulch]] as a leading batsman of the South African cricket team; and after a resolute 150 in the 1st Test at [[Sydney Cricket Ground]] in a heavy innings defeat for South Africa,<ref>[http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/player/48109.html Players:Billy Zulch] ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 18 June 2017</ref> he scored South Africa's highest individual score of 105 in their maiden overseas Test win at Adelaide, a match also characterized by the all-round performances [[Charlie Llewellyn]] and the outstanding bowling of [[Reggie Schwarz]].
South Africa's next international cricketing involvement was a [[1912 Triangular Tournament|triangular tournament]] held in England, involving the England, Australia and South Africa, the only three Test playing nations of the era. By this time, the googly duo of Schwarz and White were past their prime, while Vogler had already retired. Additionally, retirements of key players such as Sherwell ensured that South Africa were no where near their best in the series. South Africa finished bottom with just one draw, but the series was notable for the debut of [[Herbie Taylor]], regarded as one of the finest batsmen of the era. The tournament marked the international swansong for Schwarz and White. The tournament also marked the peak of the short, but moderately successful test career of medium-pacer [[Sid Pegler]], whose rise, coinciding as it did with the decline of Schwarz and Vogler, briefly caused him to hold the mantle of the lead bowler of the South African bowling attack before as well as to emerge as South Africa's leading bowler and a resounding success in the Triangular tournament, before commitments elsewhere in the form of the appointment as a colonial district commissioner in [[Nyasaland]] forced him to drift out of cricket - meaning that the enormous potential that he showed in that Triangular as well as the expectations that he could be a mainstay in the South African bowling in the coming years were not quite fulfilled.
Prodigious batsman Herbie Taylor was named captained of the South African team to face off against [[English cricket team in South Africa in 1913–14|the visiting English team]] in 1913-14, in what would prove South Africa's last international cricketing involvement before the [[World War I|First World War]]. Overall, the series was extremely poor for a South African side in transition, who failed to replicate the achievements of the South African sides 1905-06 and 1909–10, losing the 5-match Test series 4-0 against an extremely strong English side playing under the banner of the MCC. However, the series became memorable for Herbie Taylor's exceptional batting, who heralded his arrival as a new colossus in the world game, scoring a phenomenal 508 runs at an [[Batting average|average]] of 50.80 against a terrific [[Sydney Barnes]] at his prime, who had claimed a record 49 wickets during the series [[Bowling average|at]] just 10.93. The cricket historian [[Harry Altham|H.S. Altham]] wrote: "The English cricketers were unanimous that finer batting than his against Barnes at his best they never hoped to see." [[Neville Cardus]] noted it was "perhaps the most skilful of all Test performances by a batsman." It also led Cardus to count Taylor as "one of the six greatest batsmen of the post-Grace period".
The war brought in its wake the temporary suspension of international cricket. [[Sunfoil Series|The Currie Cup]], which had hitherto not been held during the years of [[Second Boer War|The Boer War]] (1899-1902) and on the years when England had visited as a touring team, faced cancellation during the years of war (1914–18). Cricketing activity in South Africa resumed to normal with the armistice in November 1918.
Post World War I, South Africa first hosted in 1919-20 an Australian Imperial Forces side boasting cricketers of the calibre of [[Jack Gregory (cricketer)|Jack Gregory]], [[Herbie Collins]], [[Bert Oldfield]], and [[Nip Pellew]]. The South African XI lost both of their matches against them.
Australia became the first international team to make an official tour to South Africa in 1921-22. The first two tests at Durban and Johannesburg were drawn,<ref>[http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/10/10325.html 1st Test South Africa vs Australia 1921-22 Scorecard] CricketArchive. Retrieved 18 June 2017</ref><ref>[http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/10/10326.html 2nd Test South Africa vs Australia 1921-22 Scorecard] CricketArchive. Retrieved 18 June 2017</ref> with Australia sealing the series 1-0 with a 10-wicket win in the 3rd Test at Cape Town.<ref>[http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/10/10331.html 3rd Test South Africa vs Australia 1921-22 Scorecard] CricketArchive. Retrieved 18 June 2017</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://content.cricinfo.com/statsguru/engine/series/60303.html |title=Australia in South Africa Test Series, 1921/22 – Matches |accessdate=2009-05-21 |publisher=Cricinfo}}</ref> Herbie Taylor, who captained the South Africans, finished with 200 runs at 33.33. [[Claude Carter]] was the South Africans' leading bowler, taking 15 wickets at 21.93.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Events/2/Australia_in_South_Africa_1921-22/t_South_Africa_Bowling.html| title = Test bowling for South Africa 1921-22| publisher = CricketArchive| accessdate = 4 February 2017}}</ref>
The following season, in 1922-23, an English cricket team [[English cricket team in South Africa in 1922–23|toured]]. Just like nine years previous Taylor was at his best. In the first Test at Johannesburg he batted at number three and in the second innings scored a superb 176, the next highest score in the match was 50.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://content.cricinfo.com/statsguru/engine/match/62534.html |title=South Africa v England, 1922/23, First Test, Scorecard |accessdate=2009-05-21 |publisher=Cricinfo}}</ref> Taylor's knock included 25 boundaries and was the largest by a South African against England.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://stats.cricinfo.com/statsguru/engine/stats/index.html?class=1;opposition=1;team=3;template=results;type=batting;view=innings |title=Statsguru – Test matches – Highest innings for South Africa against England |accessdate=2009-05-21 |publisher=Cricinfo}}</ref> South Africa won the Test by 168 runs, it was Taylor's first victory as captain and as a Test player.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://stats.cricinfo.com/statsguru/engine/player/47535.html?class=1;template=results;type=allround;view=results |title=Statsguru – HW Taylor – Test matches – Match results |accessdate=2009-05-21 |publisher=Cricinfo}}</ref> He followed that in the second Test with scores of 9 and 68 as England narrowly won by one wicket.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://content.cricinfo.com/statsguru/engine/match/62535.html |title=South Africa v England, 1922/23, Second Test, Scorecard |accessdate=2009-05-21 |publisher=Cricinfo}}</ref> In the third Test at Durban he was moved back up to open the innings, he scored 91 and shared 110 with [[Bob Catterall]]. The third days play was washed out leaving the draw inevitable in a four-day match.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://content.cricinfo.com/statsguru/engine/match/62536.html |title=South Africa v England, 1922/23, Third Test, Scorecard |accessdate=2009-05-21 |publisher=Cricinfo}}</ref> The fourth Test was also drawn, Taylor scored 11 at number four and when moved back as opener in the second innings made 101. ''Wisden'' wrote: "Taylor, who hit out freely when fear of defeat had gone, played a masterly game, but he had a little luck".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://content.cricinfo.com/wisdenalmanack/content/story/151696.html |title=England v South Africa, 1922–23, Fourth Test – Match Report |accessdate=2009-05-21 |year=1924 |work=Wisden Cricketers' Almanack – online archive |publisher=John Wisden & Co.}}</ref> With the series still level at 1–1, the fifth and final Test was made [[Timeless Test|Timeless]] to ensure a winner of the series. England's [[C. A. G. Russell]] scored two centuries in the match and South Africa were set a target of fourth innings target of 344. Taylor, at number four, batted for four and a half hours over an innings of 102 however he received little support from his teammates and South Africa lost by 109 runs.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://content.cricinfo.com/statsguru/engine/match/62538.html |title=South Africa v England, 1922/23, Fifth Test, Scorecard |accessdate=2009-05-21 |publisher=Cricinfo}}</ref> Taylor finished the series with 582 runs at 64.66 and was the highest scorer on either side, his total was 278 more than the next South African.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://stats.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/records/batting/most_runs_career.html?id=45;type=series |title=England in South Africa Test Series, 1922/23 – Most runs |accessdate=2009-05-21 |publisher=Cricinfo}}</ref> His series total was at the time a Test record for a captain, later surpassed by [[Don Bradman]] in 1936.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://stats.cricinfo.com/statsguru/engine/stats/index.html?captain=1;class=1;filter=advanced;orderby=runs;template=results;type=batting;view=series |title=Statsguru – Test matches – Most runs in a series by captain |accessdate=2009-05-21 |publisher=Cricinfo}}</ref> His three centuries in the series set a South African Test record which was only bettered in 2003/04 by [[Jacques Kallis]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://stats.cricinfo.com/statsguru/engine/stats/index.html?class=1;filter=advanced;orderby=start;qualmin1=3;qualval1=hundreds;team=3;template=results;type=batting;view=series |title=Statsguru – Test matches – Three or more hundreds in a series by a South African |accessdate=2009-05-21 |publisher=Cricinfo}}</ref> The ''Wisden'' report of the series recorded that "H. W. Taylor as a batsman was in a class by himself".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://content.cricinfo.com/wisdenalmanack/content/story/155202.html |title=England M. C. C. team in South Africa 1922–23 – Series Report |accessdate=2009-05-21 |year=1924 |work=Wisden Cricketers' Almanack – online archive |publisher=John Wisden & Co.}}</ref> The series cemented Taylor's position as a leading batsman in the world.
With Faulkner retiring in 1924, the South Africans, who had only two quality players in Taylor and Cattrell, underwent somewhat of a barren period in the 1920s. However, the emergence of a new generation of South African cricketers, more so in their batting than in their bowling, in the 1930s such as [[Bruce Mitchell (cricketer)|Bruce Mitchell]], [[Xen Balaskas]], [[Ken Viljoen]], [[Dudley Nourse]], [[Eric Rowan]], [[Alan Melville]], [[Pieter van der Bijl]], and [[Ronnie Grieveson]] once again ensured that South Africa became a top quality international team. The team's leading batsmen during this era were Mitchell, Nourse, Rowan, Melville, and van der Bijl. Nourse, in particular, became famous for his hand-eye coordination and his excellent fielding, one of many to be produced by South Africa in the coming decades; natural skills which were according to legend inspired and developed by his father Dave's refusal to coach him as an youngster, demanding that he learnt the rudiments of the game on his own, as he himself had. This South African team was also distinct from past South African teams in one respect: whereas the previous teams had comprised entirely of British-origin players, this team had Afrikaners like van der Bijl and Greeks such as Balaskas, regarded by wide consensus to be the greatest [[Greeks|Greek]] cricketer ever.<ref>{{cite book |editor-last=Stern |editor-first=John |title=My Favourite Cricketer |publisher=[[A & C Black]] |location=London |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-4081-2340-9 |chapter=Graeme Pollock |last=Kuper |first=Simon |authorlink=Simon Kuper |pages=118–121}}</ref>
The South African cricket team toured England in 1947. At [[Trent Bridge]], Captain [[Alan Melville]] and [[captain (cricket)|vice-captain]], [[Dudley Nourse]] achieved a Test match record for a third wicket partnership of 319. The following year Nourse, 38-year-old captain of [[Natal Province|Natal]], was appointed Captain for the 1948 MCC Test matches in South Africa.<ref name=Times1948>[[The Times]], 27 October 1948, ''Cricket South Africa's Captain''</ref>
They continued to play regularly series of matches against [[England cricket team|England]], [[Australia national cricket team|Australia]] and [[New Zealand national cricket team|New Zealand]] until 1970.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/records/team/series_results.html?class=1;id=3;type=team |title=Records / South Africa / Test matches / Series results |publisher=ESPNcricinfo |accessdate=17 November 2011}}</ref> The membership rules of the [[International Cricket Council|Imperial Cricket Conference]] (ICC) meant that when [[South Africa]] left the [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] in May 1961, they also left the ICC. Despite the rules being changed in 1964 to allow other nations to be "Associate" members, South Africa did not reapply.<ref name="icchistory">{{cite web|url=http://icc-cricket.yahoo.net/the-icc/about_the_organisation/history.php |title=History of the International Cricket Council |publisher=[[International Cricket Council]] |accessdate=17 November 2011}}</ref> Due to South African [[apartheid laws]], which introduced legal [[racial segregation]] to the country in 1948, no non-white (defined under the legislation as either "black", "coloured" or "Indian") player was eligible to play Test cricket for South Africa.<ref>{{cite journal |title=International Boycott of Apartheid Sport |last1=Minty |first1=Abdul |publisher=United Nations Unit on Apartheid |date=April 1971 |accessdate=2010-04-05}}</ref>
The [[anti-apartheid movement]] led the ICC to impose a moratorium on tours in 1970.<ref>{{cite book |last=Booth |first=Douglas |authorlink=Doug Booth |title=The Race Game: Sport and Politics in South Africa |publisher=[[Routledge]] |year=1998 |isbn=0-7146-4799-3 |page=99}}</ref> This decision excluded players such as [[Graeme Pollock]], [[Barry Richards]] and [[Mike Procter]] from partaking in international Test Cricket. It would also cause the emigration of future stars like, [[Basil D'Oliveira]], [[Allan Lamb]] and [[Robin Smith (cricketer)|Robin Smith]], who both played for England, and [[Kepler Wessels]], who initially played for Australia, before returning to South Africa. World class cricketers of their day like [[Clive Rice]], [[Vintcent van der Bijl]] also never played Test Cricket despite their first class records.
[[File:South African Cricket team 2008.jpg|thumb|left|400px|The South African team at [[The Oval]] in August 2008.]]
The [[International Cricket Council|ICC]] reinstated South Africa as a Test nation in 1991, and the team played its first [[:wikt:sanction|sanction]]ed international match since 1970 (and its first ever One-Day International) against [[India national cricket team|India]] in [[Calcutta]] on 10 November 1991. South Africa's first Test match after re-admission was played against the [[West Indies Cricket Team|West Indies]] in April 1992. The match was played in [[Bridgetown, Barbados]] and South Africa lost by 52 runs.
Since South Africa have been reinstated they have achieved mixed success, and hosted the [[International Cricket Council]] [[Cricket World Cup]] in 2003. However, it is widely believed<ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/cricket/international/england/10128812/Champions-Trophy-2013-England-underachievers-v-South-Africa-chokers-battle-to-lose-tags.html Champions Trophy 2013: England (underachievers) v South Africa (chokers) battle to lose tags]</ref> the sides containing the likes of [[Allan Donald]], [[Shaun Pollock]], [[Gary Kirsten]] and [[Hansie Cronje]] grossly underachieved, gaining a reputation as "[[Choke (sports)|chokers]]", due to them reaching the semi-finals of the [[Cricket World Cup]] four times, but failing to progress into the finals. In the second part of the 1990s, South Africa had the highest winning percentage in ODIs of any team, but they were knocked out of the 1996 World Cup in the [[quarter-finals]], and then were eliminated on countback after tying their [[semi-final]] against Australia in 1999. In 2003, South Africa were one of the favourites but were eliminated by one run in the group stages after they had mistakenly counted the number of runs they needed.
They have also had bad press for failing in vital matches in global tournaments including the [[2002 ICC Champions Trophy]] and the [[2007 ICC World Twenty20]].<ref>[http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/twenty20wc/content/current/story/311892.html South Africa choke on their lines again Hugh Chevallier in Durban] 20 September 2007 Cricinfo</ref>
With [[Allan Donald|Donald]] retiring, Cronje banned for [[match-fixing]] and later [[Hansie Cronje#Death|killed in a plane crash]], and Pollock also retiring from international cricket, the team once again changed shape. [[Graeme Smith]] was made captain, although following injuries to Smith and [[Jacques Kallis]], [[Ashwell Prince]] deputised as Test captain on 12 July 2006. At the age of 29, he became the first [[Person of color|non-white]] man to captain the once all-white South African cricket team. Although that [[racial quota]] policy, was rescinded in 2007,<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/front_page/7082466.stm South Africa Remove Racial Quotas] 7 November 2007 BBC Sport</ref> a new rule passed in 2016 stated that the team had to have an average minimum of six Black players, of which two must be Black African, in matches over the season.<ref>[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/cricket/article-3772961/South-Africa-introduces-racial-quotas-national-team-minimum-six-black-players-selected.html South Africa introduces racial quotas for national team with minimum of six black players to be selected 4 September 2016 Daily Mail]</ref>
With the addition of class players such as AB de Villiers and Hashim Amla, the South African Cricket team started rising in the ICC rankings. After many of the major players in the [[Australia national cricket team|Australian]] side that had dominated the early 2000s had retired, the number one place in the [[ICC Test Championship]] was a wide open race, with [[India national cricket team|India]] and [[England national cricket team|England]] having short stints as the number one side. [[South Africa cricket team in England in 2012|South Africa toured England in 2012]] for a three Test series with the winner assured of being the world No. 1. South Africa went on to take the series comfortably 2–0 and claim the top spot in the rankings, a position they have held onto for over a full calendar year.<ref>[http://www.espncricinfo.com/rankings/content/current/page/211271.html ICC Rankings] 17 October 2013 ESPN Cricinfo</ref>
In February 2014 South Africa took on Australia in a Test series, with the winner being ranked No. 1 team in the world. Australia won the series 2-1.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.espncricinfo.com/south-africa-v-australia-2013-14/engine/series/648635.html|title=Results {{!}} South Africa v Australia {{!}} ESPN Cricinfo|website=Cricinfo|access-date=2016-03-20}}</ref> South Africa later in the year would regain the No. 1 ranking. As of 20 March 2016 South Africa are ranked 3rd in Test Cricket.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.icc-cricket.com/team-rankings/test|title=ICC Test Match Team Rankings International Cricket Council|website=http://www.icc-cricket.com|access-date=2016-03-20}}</ref>
During this time of dominance in the Test arena, the ODI and T20I performances were far less consistent, as South Africa search for a winning formula ahead of the [[2014 ICC World Twenty20]] and the [[2015 ICC Cricket World Cup]]. A notable ODI series loss to [[New Zealand national cricket team|New Zealand]] at home in January 2013, and a further loss in [[Sri Lanka national cricket team|Sri Lanka]] highlighted South Africa's recent difficulties. Exits from the [[2012 ICC World Twenty20]] and the [[2013 ICC Champions Trophy]] only served to improve South Africa's reputation as 'chokers' in major tournaments. In the latter years of Smith's career, South Africa split the captaincy in the shorter forms of the game, with the ODI side being led by [[AB de Villiers]] and the T20I side by [[Faf du Plessis]]. After Smith's retirement, [[Hashim Amla]] was appointed captain of the test side, leading his side to victory in his first test in charge, in [[Galle]] in Sri Lanka.
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