Test cricket is the oldest form of cricket played at international level. A Test match is scheduled to take place over a period of five days, and is played by teams representing full member nations of the International Cricket Council (ICC). This is a list of South African Test cricket records. It is based on the List of Test cricket records, but concentrates solely on records dealing with the South African Test cricket team, and any cricketers who have played for them.
Key The top five records are listed for each category, except for the team wins, losses, draws and ties and the partnership records. Tied records for fifth place are also included. Explanations of the general symbols and cricketing terms used in the list are given below. Specific details are provided in each category where appropriate. All records include matches played for South Africa only, and are correct . + Key Symbol Meaning Player or umpire is currently active in Test cricket * Player remained not out or partnership remained unbroken ♠ Test cricket record d Innings was declared (e.g. 8/758d) Date Starting date of the Test match Innings Number of innings played Matches Number of matches played Opposition The team India was playing against Period The time period when the player was active in Test cricket Player The player involved in the record Venue Test cricket ground where the match was played
Team records MatchesWonLostDrawnTiedWin % 479 191 162 126 0 39.87.Last Updated: 30 January 2025
Team wins, losses, draws and ties , South Africa has played 479 Test matches resulting in 191 victories, 162 defeats and 126 draws for an overall winning percentage of 39.87.
OpponentMatchesWonLostDrawTied% Won% Lost% Drew 102 27 54 21 0 26.47 52.94 20.58 16 14 0 2 0 87.50 0.00 12.50 156 35 66 55 0 22.43 42.30 35.25 46 20 16 10 0 43.47 34.78 21.73 49 26 7 16 0 53.06 14.28 34.04 32 18 7 7 0 56.25 21.87 21.87 33 18 9 6 0 54.54 27.27 18.18 34 23 3 8 0 67.64 8.82 23.52 11 10 0 1 0 90.90 0.00 9.09
First Test series wins
Opponent Year of first Home win Year of first Away win YTP YTP 1967 2009 2002 2003 1906 1935 1992 2000 YTP YTP 1954 1932 1995 1997 1998 1993 1999 2001 1999 1995 Last updated: 20 June 2020
First Test match wins
Opponent Home Away Venue Year Venue Year YTP YTP YTP YTP Johannesburg 1966 Adelaide 1911 Durban 2002 Chittagong 2004 Johannesburg 1906 Lord's 1935 Port Elizabeth 1992 Kolkata 1996 YTP YTP YTP YTP Durban 1953 Christchurch 1932 Johannesburg 1995 Faisalabad 1997 Cape Town 1998 Colombo (SSC) 1993 Johannesburg 1998 Port of Spain 2001 Bloemfontein 1999 Harare 1995 Last updated: 20 June 2020
Team scoring records
Most runs in an innings The highest innings total scored in Test cricket came in the series between Sri Lanka and India in August 1997. Playing in the first Test at R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, the hosts posted a first innings total of 6/952d. This broke the longstanding record of 7/903d which England set against Australia in the final Test of the 1938 Ashes series at The Oval. The second Test of the 2003 series against the England saw South Africa set their highest innings total of 682/6d.
Rank Score Opposition Venue Date 1 Lord's, London, England 2 Sahara Stadium Kingsmead, Durban, South Africa 3 Newlands Cricket Ground, Cape Town South Africa 4 The Oval, London, England 5 Newlands Cricket Ground, Cape Town South Africa Last updated: 20 June 2020
Highest successful run chases South Africa's highest fourth innings total is 450/7 in an unsuccessful run chase against India at Johannesburg in December 2013. India had set a target of 457. South Africa's second highest fourth innings total of 423/7 came in another draw against England at The Oval in 1947. South Africa's highest successful run chase occurred against Australia at Perth in 2008, and is also the second highest successful fourth innings total. Australia had set South Africa a target of 414
Rank Score Target Opposition Venue Date 1 414 WACA Ground, Perth, Australia 2 335 Kingsmead, Durban, South Africa 3 295 Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne, Australia 4 284 Old Wanderers, Johannesburg, South Africa 5 282 Lord’s, London, England Last updated: 20 June 2020
Fewest runs in an innings The lowest innings total scored in Test cricket came in the second Test of England's tour of New Zealand in March 1955. Trailing England by 46, New Zealand was bowled out in their second innings for 26 runs. The lowest score in Test history for South Africa is 30 scored twice against England in 1896 and 1924.
Rank Score Opposition Venue Date 1 30 St George's Park, Port Elizabeth, South Africa Edgbaston, Birmingham, England 3 35 Newlands, Cape Town, South Africa 4 36 Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne, Australia 5 43 Newlands, Cape Town, South Africa Last updated: 20 June 2020
Most runs conceded in an innings The highest innings total scored against South Africa is by Sri Lanka when they scored 756/5d in the first Test of the South Africa's tour of Sri Lanka in 2006 at Sinhalese Sports Club Ground.
Rank Score Opposition Venue Date 1 Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, Colombo, Sri Lanka 2 Antigua Recreation Ground, St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda 3 Sahara Stadium Kingsmead, Durban, South Africa 4 Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa 5 Eden Gardens, Kolkata, India Last updated: 10 July 2025
Fewest runs conceded in an innings The lowest innings total scored against South Africa is 45 in the first test of New Zealand's tour of South Africa in 2013
Rank Score Opposition Venue Date 1 42 Kingsmead, Durban South Africa 2 45 Newlands Cricket Ground, Cape Town South Africa 3 47 4 49 Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa 5 53 Sahara Stadium Kingsmead, Durban, South Africa Last updated: 10 July 2025
Result records A Test match is won when one side has scored more runs than the total runs scored by the opposing side during their two innings. If both sides have completed both their allocated innings and the side that fielded last has the higher aggregate of runs, it is known as a win by runs. This indicates the number of runs that they had scored more than the opposing side. If one side scores more runs in a single innings than the total runs scored by the other side in both their innings, it is known as a win by innings and runs. If the side batting last wins the match, it is known as a win by wickets, indicating the number of wickets that were still to fall.
Greatest win margins (by innings) The fifth Test of the 1938 Ashes series at The Oval saw England win by an innings and 579 runs, the largest victory by an innings in Test cricket history. The largest victory for South Africa, which is the 17th largest, is there win against Bangladesh in the first Test of the 2017 tour at the Mangaung Oval, where the hosts won by an innings and 254 runs.
Rank Margin Opposition Venue Date 1 Innings and 273 runs Zohur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium Bangladesh 2 Innings and 254 runs Mangaung Oval, Bloemfontein, South Africa 3 Innings and 236 runs Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe 4 Innings and 229 runs Newlands, Cape Town, South Africa 5 Innings and 220 runs Centurion Park, Centurion, South Africa Last updated: 10 July 2025
Greatest win margins (by runs) The greatest winning margin by runs in Test cricket was England's victory over Australia by 675 runs in the first Test of the 1928–29 Ashes series. The largest victory recorded by South Africa, which is the fourth largest victory, is the final Test of the 2018 series against Australia by 492 runs.
Rank Margin Opposition Venue Date 1 492 runs New Wanderers, Johannesburg, South Africa 2 408 runs Assam Cricket Association Stadium, Guwahati, India 3 358 runs New Wanderers, Johannesburg, South Africa 4 356 runs Lord's, London, England 5 351 runs Centurion Park, Centurion, South Africa Last updated: 26 November 2025
Greatest win margins (by 10 wickets) South Africa have won a Test match by a margin of 10 wickets on 10 occasions.
Rank Victories Opposition Most recent venue Date 1 3 Headingley, Leeds, England 2 2 Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa Newlands Cricket Ground, Cape Town, South Africa 4 1 Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, Australia Centurion Park, Centurion, South Africa Sahara Stadium, Kingsmead, Durban, South Africa Last updated: 6 January 2025
Narrowest win margins (by runs) South Africa's narrowest win by runs was against Australia in the second Test of the 1993-94 tour at Sydney Cricket Ground. Set 117 runs for victory in the final innings, Australia were bowled all out for 111 to give victory to South Africa by five runs. This was the sixth-narrowest win in Test cricket, with the narrowest being the West Indies' one-run win over Australia in 1993.
Rank Margin Opposition Venue Date 1 Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, Australia 2 Asgiriya Stadium, Kandy, Sri Lanka 3 Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa 4 Old Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa 5 Last updated: 10 July 2025
Narrowest win margins (by wickets) South Africa's narrowest win by wickets came in the first Test of the English cricket team in South Africa in 1905-06 in January 1906. Played at the Old Wanderers Stadium, the hosts won the match by a margin of one wicket, one of only fifteen one-wicket victories in Test cricket.
Rank Margin Opposition Venue Date 1 1 wicket Old Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa 2 2 wickets Centurion Park, Centurion, South Africa 3 3 wickets Old Trafford, Manchester, England Centurion Park, Centurion, South Africa 5 4 wickets Newlands, Cape Town, South Africa Old Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, India Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa Newlands, Cape Town, South Africa Last updated: 20 May 2025
Greatest loss margins (by innings) The Oval in London played host the greatest defeat by an innings in Test cricket. The final Test of the 1938 Ashes saw England defeat the tourists by an innings and 579 runs, to the draw the series at one match all. South Africa's biggest defeat came at home during the Australian tour in 2002 when they lost by an innings and 360 runs at Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg.
Rank Margin Opposition Venue Date 1 Innings and 360 runs Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa 2 Innings and 276 runs Hagley Oval, Christchurch, New Zealand 3 Innings and 259 runs St George's Park, Port Elizabeth, South Africa 4 Innings and 202 runs Newlands, Cape Town, South Africa JSCA International Stadium Complex, Ranchi, India Last updated: 19 February 2022
Greatest loss margins (by runs) The first Test of the 1928–29 Ashes series saw Australia defeated by England by 675 runs, the greatest losing margin by runs in Test cricket. South Africa's biggest defeat by runs was against England in the fourth Test of the 1910-11 tour at Melbourne Cricket Ground. Rank Margin Opposition Venue Date 1 530 runs Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne, Australia 2 337 runs Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi, India 3 313 runs Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, Colombo, Sri Lanka 4 312 runs Newlands, Cape Town, South Africa 5 288 runs St George's Park, Port Elizabeth, South Africa Last updated: 20 June 2020
Greatest loss margins (by 10 wickets) South Africa have lost a Test match by a margin of 10 wickets on 12 occasions with most recent being during the 3rd test of the South Africa's tour of Australia in 2001-02.
Rank Occurrences Opposition Most recent venue Most recent date 1 6 Lord's, London, England Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, Australia Last updated: 20 June 2020
Narrowest loss margins (by runs) The narrowest loss of South Africa in terms of runs is by 23 runs against England in the fifth test of the South Africa's tour of England in 1998.