Australian Men’s Cricket Team vs South Africa National Cricket Team Timeline

Both Australia and South Africa do a great job of keeping cricket commentators and a loyal fan base engaged with their competitive spirit and strong performances. They are the ultimate representation of a sport that involves skill, deliberation, and stamina. The South Africa vs Australia cricket rivalry is built with narratives, and moments from the highly charged performances are being captured, keeping the audience engaged. The Australian Men’s Cricket Team vs South Africa National Cricket Team Timeline is merely an indicator of the riveting encounters that produce iconic moments and end with edge-of-the-seat finishes. During their competition, there is an air of excitement and anticipation among fans, keeping them hooked to their seat throughout the match.

Australian Men’s Cricket Team vs South Africa National Cricket Team Timeline: Early Encounters (1902-2025)

1902-1950: Initial Encounters

1902-1903 South Africa vs Australia– The Kangaroos played their first match against South Africa in a 3-match Test series in South Africa. While the first ended in a draw, Australia won the second by 159 runs and the third by 10 wickets. Victor Trumper, Clement Hill, Warwick Armstrong, and Reginald Duff were the top performers for Australia. South Africa, although playing their first Test matches, had not been exposed to Australia’s level and were unable to match the skill and experience of the visitors. The series laid the foundations for their future development in international cricket.

1910-1911 Australia vs South Africa: The third Test of the series was iconic in the Australia vs South Africa rivalry, as it was the first victory of South Africa against the Kangaroos. South Africa batted first and scored 482 & 360 in the first and second innings, respectively, while restricting Australia to 465 & 339, thus clinching a 38-run victory.

1931-1932 Australia v South Africa: The 5-match Test series concluded with Australia whitewashing the Proteas on their home soil. Donald Bradman, Keith Rigg, William Woodfull, Bert Ironmonger, Thomas Wall, and Clarence Grimmett were key players for Australia.

1949-1950 South Africa v Australia- Australia won the five-match Test series 4–0. Australia won quite comfortably throughout thanks to suitable batting depth led by Lindsay Hassett, Neil Harvey, Arthur Morris, and John Moroney, as well as bowling depth from William Johnston, Ian Johnson, and Keith Miller. South Africa struggled with getting through Australia’s depth to have success.

Australia vs South Africa 1952-1999: The Close Contests and Clashes

1952-1953 Australia v South Africa- The 1952-1953 Test series was a competitive series played in Australia, which ended in a tie, with a record of 2-2, and one draw. South Africa, along with John Cheetham, started well in the series with victories in the second and fifth matches in Melbourne. The Kangaroos won the first and the third games in Brisbane and Sydney, led by Neil Harvey. The series helped show a growing South Africa as an international competitor.

1969–70 South Africa v Australia- This series stands out as a milestone series, South Africa comprehensively whitewashed Australia in a 4-0 victory, with key performances by Graeme Pollock, Eddie Barlow, Barry Richards, Brian Irvine, Peter Pollock, and Mike Procter. The Australians, suffering from the pace and spin attack of South Africa, knew no respite.

1991-1992 Benson & Hedges World Cup- By far the most memorable ODI match in which South Africa confronted the Aussies in their key group stage match in Sydney. After being readmitted to international cricket, the match offered South Africa their first chance to take the stage in a World Cup match. The Proteas came off well, providing excellent discipline on bowling and alertness in their fielding. Australia batted and scored 170, well contained by South Africa, as Peter Kirsten and Kepler Wessels guided South Africa to a 9-wicket victory.

1993-1994 Benson & Hedges World Series: Australia and South Africa played the finals of the 1993-1994 Benson & Hedges World Series. The Aussies won the championship by winning the best-of-three finals. The Proteas won the first final by 28 runs, thanks to Gary Kirsten’s undefeated 112 and Richard Snell’s 5-wicket haul. In the second final, Australia won by 69 runs, with Mark Waugh playing a knock of 107 runs. In the third final, Australia won by 35 runs, thanks to Mark Waugh, who scored 60 off 53 balls.

1997-1998 Carlton & United Series: In the series’ finals, while South Africa won the first match by 6 runs, Australia won the second by 7 wickets. In the suspenseful third final, the Aussies prevailed by 14 runs.

1999 ICC World Cup: The 2nd semi-final match of the 1999 ICC World Cup occurred between South Africa and Australia, and it was a nail-biting encounter played at Edgbaston. Australia posted a total of 213 runs, led by Michael Bevan’s steady innings of 65 runs. South Africa fought well and turned to Jacques Kallis and Jonty Rhodes who were playing well with moderate success in the chase, only to end with a tie and South Africa out of the World Cup on a lower stage ranking than just a few hours before, and Australia back in the final and South Africa crushed.

2000s-2010: The Changing Dynamic of Australia vs South Africa Rivalry

2001-2002 Australia v South Africa: The three-match Test series concluded in favor of Australia as they clean-swept the Proteas. While they won the first game by 246 runs, they won the second by 9 wickets, and they displayed their supremacy in the sport by prevailing in the third match by 10 wickets.

2005-2006 South Africa v Australia: The 5-match ODI series was clinched by South Africa 3-2. They won the first match by 6 wickets using the D/L method. In the second match, the Proteas batted first and scored 289, while preventing the Baggy Greens at 93, hence winning by 196 runs. In the third and fourth games, Australia replied with a 24-run and 1 1-wicket victory, respectively. However, South Africa clinched the next game by 1 wicket.

2005-2006 Australia v South Africa- The first T20 International between Australia and South Africa occurred on January 9, 2006, at The Gabba in Brisbane, Australia won convincingly by 95 runs. Damien Martyn and Andrew Symonds powered Australia to a formidable 209/3. South Africa was then bowled out for just 114 runs in reply, with Nathan Bracken taking 2 wickets. The match was a dominant debut T20 performance by Australia against South Africa.

2006-2007 ICC World Cup- In the 2007 ICC World Cup second semi-final, Australia took on South Africa in St. Lucia, where South Africa was dismissed for 149 all out, thanks to Glenn McGrath and Shaun Tait, who demolished their top order. Justin Kemp’s score of 49 and a cameo by Herschelle Gibbs (39) helped South Africa reach 149. Australia chased the target down easily as Michael Clarke made an unbeaten 60 to help Australia win by 7 wickets and secure a place in the final, where they demonstrated superior batting and bowling in a relatively one-sided contest.

2008-2009 Australia v South Africa- The 2008–2009 Test series between Australia and South Africa was historic. South Africa triumphed over Australia 2–1 in the three-match series, with the brilliant performances of players such as AB de Villiers, Jacques Kallis, Graeme Smith, Hashim Amla, JP Duminy, and Dale Steyn. They combined for commanding and determined displays in their Test matches against Australia, who by the middle of the series found it harder to halt the powerful South African performances. Australia had their own characters in the form of Brad Haddin, Michael Clarke, Mitchell Johnson, and Ricky Ponting, who fought strongly for Australia in the matches.

Australia vs South Africa 2011-Present

2011-2012 South Africa v Australia: In the 2011 T20I series between South Africa and Australia, the teams won one match each. The first of the two games took place in Cape Town on October 13, which Australia won by 5 wickets following a blistering fifty from Shane Watson and an impressive debut from Pat Cummins. South Africa recovered in Johannesburg on October 16, winning by 3 wickets, as Johan Botha led his team with 34 off 28 balls. The series was tied (1-1), with teams sharing the spoils, emphasising healthy competition and providing a glimpse of the emerging talent in both teams.

2014-2015 Triangular Series in Zimbabwe: The Zimbabwe Triangular Series placed South Africa against Australia on three occasions, with South Africa winning two of their match-ups against Australia. Australia faced South Africa in the Final, which bowled the Australians out for 217. In the second innings, the Proteas came to bat, and they completed the run chase of 221 in 40.5 overs with 4 wickets down. Faf du Plessis led the side with 96 runs, while AB de Villiers scored an unbeaten 57, and South Africa went on to win the Final by six wickets and claim the Series.

2022-2023 Australia v South Africa: The Test series between Australia and South Africa involved three matches, with Australia winning 2-0. David Warner, Alex Carey, Travis Head, and Usman Khawaja spearheaded the batting, while Pat Cummins headed the bowling front. South Africa played valiantly with Kyle Verreynne, Marco Jansen, Temba Bavuma, and Kagiso Rabada showing a great deal of maturity, but they were unable to prevent Australia from winning the series.

2023 ICC World Cup: In the 2023 ICC World Cup, there were two matches between Australia and South Africa, with each team winning one match. In the first match, South Africa won with some great batting performance from Quinton de Kock, as well as some excellent bowling. In the second match, Australia bounced back and secured a win with a phenomenal innings from Travis Head, towards the beginning of the innings, and Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc did their part with the ball.

2023 South Africa v Australia- Australia had a clean sweep over South Africa during their three-match T20I series. In the first match, Mitchell Marsh scored an unbeaten 92 and helped Australia reach a total of 226/6, setting South Africa an important target. In the second match, Sean Abbott’s impressive 3/22 in his four overs restricted South Africa to 164/8, while Australia chased down the relatively easy target with the bat, with Mitchell Marsh scoring an undefeated 79. In the third match, Travis Head scored 91 runs and led Australia to a five-wicket win and a clean sweep of the series.

Australian Men’s Cricket Team vs South Africa National Cricket Team Head to Head Record in Tests

Australian Men’s Cricket Team vs South Africa National Cricket Team Head to Head Record in T20I

In Test format, Australia and South Africa have played 101 matches. Of these matches, Australia won 54, while South Africa won 26. 21 matches concluded in a draw between both sides.

Australia Men’s Cricket Team	Head to Head Record	South Africa National Cricket Team
54	Won	26
26	Lost	54
21	Drawn	21
0	Tied	0
23	Home won	16
29	Away won	10
2	Neutral won	0

Australian Men’s Cricket Team vs South Africa National Cricket Team Head to Head Record in ODI

The Australian Men’s Cricket Team and the South Africa National Cricket Team have faced off 110 times in the 50-over format. In these encounters, Australia prevailed in 51 matches, while South Africa emerged victorious 55 times. 3 matches concluded in a tie, and 1 match finished in a draw between both teams.

Australia Men’s Cricket Team	Head to Head Record	South Africa National Cricket Team
51	Won	55
55	Lost	51
1	Drawn	1
3	Tied	3
19	Home won	28
22	Away won	19
10	Neutral won	8

Australian Men’s Cricket Team vs South Africa National Cricket Team Head to Head Record in T20I

The Aussies and the Proteas have played 25 T20I matches. Of these games, Australia claimed victory in 17 matches, while South Africa prevailed in 8 games.

Australia Men’s Cricket Team	Head to Head Record	South Africa National Cricket Team
17	won	8
8	Lost	17
0	Drawn	0
0	Tied	0
5	Home won	6
10	Away won	2
2	Neutral won	0