The New Zealand national cricket team toured South Africa from October 1961 to February 1962 and played a five-match Test series against the South Africa national cricket team. The series was drawn 2–2, with New Zealand's victory in the third Test the team's first Test match win outside their home country. New Zealand captain John Reid scored a total of 1,915 runs during the tour, setting a record for the most runs scored in South Africa by a touring batsman.McLintock AH (1966) An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand. (Available online at Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 2 December 2020.) The tour was the second to South Africa by a team from New Zealand, the previous tour having taken place in 1953–54.

After South Africa withdrew from the British Commonwealth in 1961, the tour was not deemed official as the country was no longer a member of the Imperial Cricket Conference (ICC). Despite this, the international matches on the tour have always been considered to have Test match status.South Africa withdraws from the Commonwealth, South African History Online. Retrieved 2 December 2020.New Zealand in South Africa, 1961–62, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, 1963. Retrieved 2 December 2020.

Due to the sporting boycott of South Africa during the apartheid era, no official Test cricket was played by South Africa after 1970, with an effective moratorium on international tours to the country after a resolution passed by the ICC opposing the apartheid system.The SA Cricket team is re-admitted to international cricket, South African History Online, 16 March 2011. Retrieved 11 August 2021. As a result, New Zealand did not tour the country again until 1994–95, after the end of the apartheid regime and the reintegration of South Africa into international sport in 1991.Woods D (1993) African sunrise: the return of South Africa, cricket's prodigal son, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, 1993. Retrieved 11 August 2021.

Tour party

The New Zealand team was captained by John Reid with Murray Chapple as the vice-captain. Reid was by far the most experienced member of the team with 34 Test caps; other than Noel McGregor with 15, no other member of the team had more than 10 caps to their name and eight players on the tour had not made their Test debut. Six of these went on to play in the Test matches on the tour, with only John Ward and Bryan Yuile not playing in any of the Tests.Test Cricket Tours – New Zealand to South Africa 1961–62, Test Cricket Tours (archived June 2020). Retrieved 3 December 2020.Neely D, Payne R (1986) Men in White: The History of New Zealand International Cricket, 1894–1985, p. 303. Auckland: Moa.

New Zealand's outstanding post-war batsman, Bert Sutcliffe,Bert Sutcliffe, Obituary, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, 2002. Retrieved 3 December 2020. had retired from Test cricket and was not available for the tour, although he came back into the team for the 1965 tour of India, Pakistan and England at the age of 41.Test Cricket Tours – New Zealand to India, Pakistan & England 1965, Test Cricket Tours (archived June 2020). Retrieved 3 December 2020. Experienced players Bob Blair and Alex Moir were not selected for the tour.

The manager of the team was Gordon Leggat, who played in one of the non-first-class matches on the tour.

A protest against the South African apartheid regime took place during the squad selection meeting in Christchurch.Green D (2013) Government and sport – Politics of sport, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 3 December 2020. The team was the last from New Zealand to visit apartheid-era South Africa; the next New Zealand team to tour the country did so in 1994/95, after the end of the sporting boycott of South Africa.The New Zealanders in South Africa, 1994–95, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, 1996. Retrieved 18 June 2018.

Tour itinerary The tour took place between October 1961 and March 1962. The New Zealanders travelled to and from South Africa via Australia. They played a first-class match against Western Australia on the outward leg of their journey and matches against South Australia and New South Wales on the return journey, the only matches played in March.New Zealand in Australia and South Africa 1961/62, CricketArchive. Retrieved 3 December 2020.

A total of 21 matches were played in South Africa during the tour, including the five Test matches, as well as three played in Rhodesia. Eleven matches, seven of which were first-class, were played during the period between October and December, before the first Test match. These included three matches, two of which were first-class, in Rhodesia. Another eight matches, six of which were first-class, were played between the Test matches, including five in January 1962 between the third and fourth Tests.

Test series

All of the Test matches during the tour were four-day matches. Each team won two of the five matches with one drawn Test, leaving the series drawn.

First Test The first Test match of the tour was held at Kingsmead Cricket Ground in Durban, beginning on 8 December 1961. Seven of the South African team and five New Zealanders made their Test debuts in the match. The South African team was captained by Jackie McGlew in his final series.

South Africa won the toss and chose to bat, scoring 292 runs in their first innings, and innings anchored by McGlew who carried his bat with a score of 127. Only Roy McLean, who scored 63, made a score of more than 25 runs and Wisden commented that the batting of the new South African players, other than Colin Bland, was "disappointing" throughout the match. In reply New Zealand scored 245 runs, with Paul Barton and Zin Harris both making half-centuries, leaving South Africa with a lead of 47 runs after the first innings.First Test Match, South Africa v New Zealand, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, 1963. Retrieved 3 December 2020.

After a rest day on Sunday 10 December,Scorecard, 1st Test, Durban, 8–12 Dec 1961, New Zealand tour of South Africa , CricInfo. Retrieved 3 December 2020. South Africa resumed their second innings. When Bland was fourth man out with the score on 110 they appeared well placed to build a big lead, but collapsed in less than an hour to be all out for 149, leaving New Zealand to score 197 runs with more than a days play remaining. They failed to reach their target and were all out for 166 after what Wisden called "rank bad batting", with South Africa winning the match by just 30 runs. Peter Pollock, on his Test debut aged 20, took a five-wicket haul with six wickets for a cost of 38 runs in the innings and nine wickets in the match.

Second Test The second Test match began on Boxing Day at Wanderers in Johannesburg. McGlew again won the toss and chose to bat, John Waite scoring a century in South Africa's first innings score of 322 runs. Frank Cameron took five wickets in the innings. Rain had restricted play to only 80 minutes on the first day, and New Zealand did not begin their reply until the final session of the second day. They scored 223 in their innings, with Godfrey Lawrence taking eight wickets for 53 runs, the best bowling figures in Test matches by a South African fast bowler. Debutant Graham Dowling top scored for New Zealand with 74.Second Test Match, South Africa v New Zealand, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, 1963. Retrieved 3 December 2020.2nd Test, Johannesburg, Dec 26–29 1961, New Zealand tour of South Africa, CricInfo. Retrieved 3 December 2020.

McGlew declared South Africa's second innings at 178/6, leaving New Zealand with a target of 278 runs in around four hours play. They reached 165 runs for the loss of four wickets and the match was drawn, with Wisden lamenting the loss of time to rain on the first day. Dowling scored a second half century, with John Reid top scoring with 75 not out.

Third Test

The third Test was played at Newlands in Cape Town, beginning on New Year's Day. Reid won the toss for the first time in the series and New Zealand chose to bat, scoring 385 runs in their first innings, attacking the South African bowling after losing early wickets. Reid scored a "pulsating" 92 runs before Murray Chapple and Zin Harris put on 148 runs for the fifth wicket, Harris scoring his maiden Test century before being stumped for 101. Sydney Burke, making his debut for South Africa, took six wickets, including four cheap ones on the second morning of the match.Third Test, South Africa v New Zealand, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, 1963. Retrieved 6 December 2020. Buster Farrer also made his debut for South Africa in the match.3rd Test, Cape Town, Jan 1–4 1962, New Zealand tour of South Africa, CricInfo. Retrieved 6 December 2020.

In reply South Africa were bowled out for 190 runs, Cameron taking a five-wicket haul. Reid did not enforce the follow on and New Zealand scored 212 runs before declaring with nine wickets down, Burke taking another five wickets for 11 on debut.

South Africa required 407 runs to win the match. McGlew, who suffered a hand injury, made 63 runs and McLean a century in under three hours, but the South Africans were bowled out for 335, New Zealand winning by 72 runs. The victory, which Wisden described as a "thriller", was their second in Test matches and their first away from home.

Fourth Test The fourth Test was played at the beginning of February, with Wanderers being used again to host the match. Burke was dropped, despite his bowling display in the previous Test, and Peter Heine returned to the South African team after an absence of three years. It was to be his last Test match. Tiger Lance made his Test debut for the South Africans, the team's tenth new cap of the series.Fourth Test, South Africa v New Zealand, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, 1963. Retrieved 6 December 2020.

Reid won the toss again and opted to bat, but New Zealand were dismissed for 164 runs in their first innings, with Godfrey Lawrence taking another five-wicket haul at Wanderers. Only Reid, who played a "glorious innings" for 60, scored more than 22 runs. South Africa replied with a score of 464, with an opening partnership of 134 and another century from McGlew, the seventh and last of his Test match career.Scorecard, 4th Test, Johannesburg, 2–5 Feb 1962, New Zealand tour of South Africa, CricInfo. Retrieved 6 December 2020. Facing a deficit of over 300, New Zealand lost both opening batsmen for ducks and were all out for 249. Reid again dominated the innings, scoring 142, but his team lost by an innings and 51 runs with a full day to play. The match saw South African wicket-keeper John Waite take his 24th dismissal of the series, breaking the world record for dismissals in a five-match series by a wicket-keeper with a match remaining.

Fifth Test

The final Test match of the series was played at St George's Oval in Port Elizabeth, beginning on 16 February. Reid won the toss for the third match in a row and chose to bat on what Wisden described as a "batsman's wicket".Fifth Test, South Africa v New Zealand, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, 1963. Retrieved 18 December 2020.

The New Zealanders scored 275 runs, with Paul Barton top-scoring with 109, scoring his only Test century in an innings Wisden described as "composed, correct and polished". In reply South Africa scored 190, with opening batsman McGlew, playing in his final Test, suffering from an injured shoulder and not batting until ninth in the batting order as a result. New Zealand were then bowled out for 228 runs in their second innings, leaving South Africa requiring 314 to win the match.Scorecard, 5th Test, Port Elizabeth, 16 – 20 February 1962, New Zealand tour of South Africa, CricInfo. Retrieved 18 December 2020.