Cricket South Africa announced the itinerary for Test series against Australia which is to be played next year. According to the schedule, the Test series between the two teams starts from March 1 with the first Test to be played at Durban. The second Test will start from March 9 at Port Elizabeth with third and fourth Test to be played from March 22 and March 30 at Cape Town and Johannesburg respectively.
Before the start of the international fixtures, Australia will play a tour match against South Africa Invitation XI from February 22 to 24 at Benoni. This will be the only opportunity for Australia to assimilate to the conditions in South Africa.
Australia’s last tour to South Africa came in the year 2013-14 when Kangaroos toured Proteas for three-match Test series. The host’s lost the series by a margin of 2-1 with Australia winning the decider by a margin of 245 runs. It was also the retirement series for former South African skipper Graeme Smith.
“Test match cricket between Australia and South Africa has always produced epic battles and brought out high-class individual performances that have become part of the annals of the game. Australia are currently the No. 2 ranked team on the ICC Test table and we will need to beat them and India to regain our place at the top of the table,” Haroon Lorgat, the CSA CEO, said.
“With this series being played straight after the tour by India our Proteas and fans can look forward to what will be one of the most challenging seasons of Test match cricket we have ever witnessed in South Africa,” Lorgat added.
It will be the first time since 1970 when the two teams will play four-match Test series. Ahead of the tour, South Arica is scheduled to host Bangladesh and India for Test series.
Fixtures for Australia tour of Australia –