How South Africa conquered Test cricket in 2025

The state of South Africa’s Test cricket game appears to be in decline.

This summer, there won’t be any red-ball action in the nation for the first time since apartheid’s athletes had been isolated. Fans should instead enjoy watching Indian-owned T20 franchises compete in the SA20.

The Proteas will play whites on their own soil in October 2026, 21 months after hosting Pakistan in January of that year.

Despite having a historically bad health, the Test team’s year 2025 proves to be pivotal.

With a victory over Pakistan of 2:0, Ryan Rickelton recorded his nation’s first double century in nine years. South Africa defeated Australia in the World Test Championship (WTC) final at Lord’s in June with a superb fourth-innings 136 from Aiden Markram and a nine-wicket match haul from Kagiso Rabada.

South Africa are now on track to reach a third WTC final after the choker’s tag has been finally removed and momentum is finally behind them.

When Wiaan Mulder declared himself on 367 against Zimbabwe in July, threatening Brian Lara’s record for the highest Test result. In Rawalpindi, Keshav Maharaj scored a seven-for in the series opener against Pakistan in October.

As South Africa defeated India 2-0 in their own backyard, Simon Harmer took 17 wickets in two Test matches, making it the first South African team to win away from India since 2000.

Sunuran Muthusamy, the spin-bowling all-rounder who recorded his maiden century in the 408-run victory over India, describes it as “a remarkable time for us.”

Hope and uncertainty both permeated the year.

There was a sense that the group had come to a crossroads following a nerve-wracking two-wicket win over Pakistan in the 2024 Boxing Day Test.

Only sustained success would keep it visible, relevant, and valued in a year when tradition and goodwill could no longer be used.

Shukri Conrad, the team’s bullish coach, who left a disorganized side in late 2022 to take over a team that was in disarray, says, “We needed to become a winning machine.”

The balance of the side has made that clearest of all. South Africa has long relied on elite fast bowlers, but this style of attack has evolved beyond brute force.

Rabada, a generational talent, continues to be the spearhead and is now complemented by a breadth of skill and variety that makes the Proteas compete in all environments.

While Marco Jansen, a two-metre-tall left-armer who can swing it both ways at pace, provides real X-factor, Maharaj and Harmer offer control and a wicket-taking threat.

The batting’s transformation, however, has been the most remarkable.

South African batters only beat Zimbabwe and Afghanistan in the Test centuries recorded between January 2020 and February 2023. In the same period, England scored 38.

South Africans have now surpassed one hundred per Test, up from their previous lean spell, which included 23 victories. There have been 10 hundreds this year alone, including Mulder’s record-breaking knock and three first-time centurions and one first-time double centurion.

The number of contributions down the list was perhaps the most impressive. This year, South Africa’s lower order, which is seven down, averaged 29.51, which is comfortably the best among Test sides. The only other teams with averages over 20 are England and Ireland.

Muthusamy, whose 109 in Guwahati included a 97-run stand with Jansen, continues, “We all share the responsibility and take pride in what we do.” We never lose. That’s the message that the leadership group has conveyed to us.

The WTC final demonstrated that resilience most clearly. South Africa finished day one 43-4, 169 runs back of Australia.

They were set for the second-highest successful chase at Lord’s on day three, 282, which was set for lunch. In a historic victory that rewrote the classic tale of teams with great talent but fragile under pressure, they clawed their way back on both occasions.

A bumper 2026 is now the object of attention.

England travels to South Africa for three matches over the holiday season, including a two-test shootout with Bangladesh and three matches against Australia, their first in South Africa since the 2018 sandpapergate scandal.

Two series victories should secure a spot in the WTC final.

That scenario makes the conflict at the heart of South African Test cricket more acute.

A resilient, balanced, and growingly ruthless side has emerged on the field.

Off it, the format is still constrained by unbalanced governance and commercial priorities. The players themselves bear the cost of maintaining the environment because there is no political will.