While the institutional framework supporting Test cricket in South Africa faces unprecedented challenges, the national team itself is experiencing a golden era of unprecedented success. For the first time since the apartheid sporting isolation era, the country will host no red-ball cricket this summer, with the commercially-driven SA20 franchise tournament taking precedence. The Proteas won’t play another home Test until October 2026—a staggering 21-month hiatus from traditional cricket on home soil.
Despite this concerning backdrop, the South African Test team has delivered a watershed year of extraordinary achievements. Their remarkable 2025 campaign began with a 2-0 whitewash of Pakistan, featuring Ryan Rickelton’s first double century by a South African in nine years. The pinnacle arrived in June when Aiden Markram’s sublime fourth-innings 136, combined with Kagiso Rabada’s nine-wicket match haul, secured a dramatic five-wicket victory over Australia in the World Test Championship final at Lord’s.
The success continued throughout the year with historic milestones: Wiaan Mulder’s record-threatening 367 against Zimbabwe, Keshav Maharaj’s seven-wicket haul in Rawalpindi to level the series against Pakistan, and Simon Harmer’s 17-wicket performance during South Africa’s first away series victory in India since 2000.
Team balance has been crucial to this transformation. While maintaining their traditional fast-bowling excellence through Rabada’s spearhead leadership, the attack has evolved with added variety. Spin twins Maharaj and Harmer provide control and wicket-taking threat, while Marco Jansen—the two-meter tall left-armer with swing both ways—offers genuine X-factor.
Most strikingly, the batting lineup has undergone revolutionary improvement. From just six centuries between January 2020 and February 2023 (ranking above only Zimbabwe and Afghanistan), South African batters have now scored 23 centuries since that lean period. The lower order particularly excels, averaging 29.51 runs per wicket—the best among all Test nations.
According to spin-bowling all-rounder Sunuran Muthusamy, who scored his maiden century in the record 408-run victory against India: “We’ve found a great formula. The leadership group has instilled in us that we’re never beaten.”
This resilience was epitomized in the WTC final comeback from 43-4 on day one, eventually chasing down the second-highest successful target in Lord’s history. Captain Temba Bavuma, who averaged 51.66 this year, became the first captain to win 11 Tests before tasting defeat.
As attention turns to 2026’s packed schedule—featuring series against Australia, Bangladesh, and England—the fundamental contradiction remains: an increasingly ruthless and balanced team continues to excel despite a format being squeezed by commercial priorities and inadequate governance. Whether sporting excellence alone can sustain Test cricket in South Africa remains the unanswered question.