South Africa

8:14 PM IST Ewie Cronje, the former Free State Cricket president and father of the late South Africa captain Hansie Cronje has died. Cronje was suffering from stomach cancer. He was 80. Cronje played 27 first-class matches for Free State between 1960 and 1971 but was better known for his time in administration. He played

11:45 PM IST ESPNcricinfo staff Somerset have announced that Vernon Philander‘s contract with the club has been cancelled by mutual consent. Philander, who played his final Test match for South Africa against England in January after announcing his retirement from international cricket, had signed a two-year deal with the county on a Kolpak registration. All

5:03 PM IST Keshav Maharaj has put himself forward as a wildcard candidate to take over as South Africa’s Test captain. The position remains unfilled following Faf du Plessis stepping down in February, even though South Africa have appointed Quinton de Kock as their white-ball captain. Maharaj has not been among those named as likely

6:10 PM IST Solo Nqweni, the South African allrounder who has been battling Guillan-Barré syndrome since last July, has now tested positive for Covid-19. Nqweni revealed the news on Twitter. ESPNcricinfo understands that Nqweni is able to communicate and his agent Rob Humphries is positive he will make a full recovery. Nqweni is the third

May 5, 2020 The third edition of the Mzansi Super League, South Africa’s premier T20 domestic competition, will feature eight teams and be screened on pay television, marking a significant shift from the first two seasons. ESPNcricinfo has learned that the six existing franchises will be joined by teams based in Bloemfontein and East London

5:12 PM IST Faf du Plessis stepped down as South Africa’s captain after “one of the toughest seasons” of his career to concentrate on developing future leaders, an area he believes his country needs to work on. In his first media engagement since the end of the 2019-20 home summer, du Plessis explained that while

12:39 PM GMT It’s difficult enough having to decide if you will risk fielding your team’s premier allrounder in a World Cup semi-final after they the player has taken ill, but that decision was made even tougher for South Africa captain Dané van Niekerk because that player is also her wife. Marizanne Kapp, the fast-bowling

11:43 AM GMT The ability to not lose their collective cool during South Africa’s worst home season since readmission is what kept the new national staff on track during the 2019-20 summer, according to bowling coach Charl Langeveldt. South Africa won only one out of five home series across all formats and navigated through numerous

8:50 AM GMT ESPNcricinfo staff South Africa’s limited-overs tour of Sri Lanka, which was scheduled for the first half of June, has been postponed because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The teams were set to play three ODIs and three T20Is during the tour, with results from the former counting towards points in the ICC’s new

10:49 AM GMT Quinton de Kock will not be named South Africa’s Test captain even though there is no clear candidate for the position yet. That was confirmed by Graeme Smith, South Africa’s director of cricket, on Friday, who said the risk of overburdening de Kock has resulted in ruling him out of leadership role

9:28 AM GMT ESPNcricinfo staff Graeme Smith has been appointed South Africa’s director of cricket for a two-year period ending on March 31, 2022. Smith was appointed in an interim capacity in mid-December, during a time of crisis at Cricket South Africa, and was due to take a break to commentate on the IPL. With

12:42 PM GMT Lungi Ngidi, South Africa’s highest white-ball wicket-taker in 2020 so far, has given himself a six out of 10 for his performances over the past summer and believes there is room for improvement. Ngidi did not play any of South Africa’s four home Tests after injuring a hamstring in the Mzansi Super

3:02 AM GMT AB de Villiers has not made a firm decision on his availability for the T20 World Cup yet, but indicated that the likelihood of him playing would decrease if the tournament is postponed. In an interview with the Afrikaans weekly Rapport , de Villiers said that while form and fitness would be

6:18 PM GMT The loss of the Kolpak route into English cricket could be to the benefit of South Africa, although it would require CSA to build bridges with the players who have stepped away from the international set-up. That is the view of Simon Harmer, the offspinner who gave up on his South Africa

11:45 AM GMT Jackie du Preez, the Zimbabwean who played two Tests for South Africa in the 1966-67 season, has died in Harare at the age of 77. Du Preez was suffering from a long-standing heart condition. Du Preez played in pre-independent Zimbabwe (Rhodesia) and was one of several of his countrymen, including Mike Procter,

11:29 AM GMT Mark Boucher has called South Africa’s win over Australia in the ODI series in March the “light at the end of the tunnel” after a difficult first season in charge of the men’s national side. Boucher took over in December and oversaw South Africa lose a Test and T20 series to England,

3:07 PM GMT Dane Paterson, the seamer who made his Test debut for South Africa in the 2019-20 summer, has ended his career in his home country and intends to play professionally in England from this season. Paterson could be left in limbo, however, after an interview to confirm his Kolpak deal with Nottinghamshire, scheduled

2:15 PM GMT Cricket South Africa will advertise the positions of convener of selectors, national women’s coach and support staff, men’s under-19 coach and support staff, South Africa A coach and chief medical officer imminently – with current contracts coming to an end on April 30. All the incumbents will be able to apply to

2:16 PM GMT Dane Piedt, the nine-times capped South African Test offspinner, still harbours hopes of playing at a 50-over World Cup, albeit not for the country of his birth. Piedt will move to the USA in the next few months to be part of the new Minor League T20 tournament, which is due to

CSA acting chief executive Jacques Faul © Getty Images South African domestic cricket will face a slightly shorter 2020-21 season with a reduction of fixtures for the franchise competition as Cricket South Africa seeks to cut costs following a tough 12 months. The organisation is forecasting losses of millions of Rands after sponsor withdrawal, an

2:57 PM GMT The Lions and Dolphins have been crowned champions of South Africa’s first-class and the one-day competition respectively after both events were suspended as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The two franchises each finished at the top of the points’ tables of the respective competition and acting director of cricket, Graeme Smith,

3:17 PM GMT Beuran Hendricks, the left-arm seamer who made his Test and ODI debuts for South Africa in the past season, is the only new name on the national men’s contracted player list for the 2020-21 season. Meanwhile, pacer Nadine de Klerk, who was part of South Africa’s squad at the T20 World Cup

9:43 AM GMT ESPNcricinfo staff Despite the concerns around COVID-19 (novel coronavirus), the initial plan was to play out the short three-ODI series between India and South Africa, the second and third games behind closed doors. But after the first ODI in Dharamsala was washed out, the remaining games were cancelled for the time being.

12:47 PM GMT Quinton de Kock is a man of few words and he had just one when he was appointed South Africa’s permanent white-ball captain and asked if he would consider giving up the wicketkeeping gloves to accommodate the extra responsibility: “No.” It was one of the few times de Kock has been adamant,

7:40 AM GMT Vishal Dikshit in Mumbai Jonty Rhodes believes South Africa should “do anything” to win the T20 World Cup, and that means picking AB de Villiers, who hasn’t played international cricket for nearly two years. But the former batsman is concerned that picking de Villiers in this fashion could set a worrying “precedent”

4:02 AM GMT It’s early days yet but part of South Africa’s trip to India for a whistle-stop three-match ODI series starting this week could serve as a recce of sorts of the next 50-over World Cup, in 2023. Having won their first series in a year in ODIs, against Australia who they swept 3-0,

2:18 PM GMT ESPNcricinfo staff Opening batsman Janneman Malan has been included in South Africa’s squad to tour India for a three-ODI series, with the first match starting on March 12. Malan was not part of the original 15-man group but, after a century in his second ODI to win the series against Australia in

8:00 AM GMT South Africa won the toss and chose to bowl v Australia Daryn Dupavillon, the Dolphins fast bowler, became South Africa’s 139th ODI cap – and the sixth new face this summer – as he was handed a debut for the season finale in Potchefstroom. That takes the total number of players that

11:40 AM GMT ESPNcricinfo staff Leicestershire have announced the signing of Janneman Malan as their main overseas player for the 2020 season. Malan, who was the leading domestic run-scorer in this season’s Mzansi Super League, became the first player to score a duck on ODI debut and follow it up with a century in his

4:10 PM GMT South Africa’s ODI tour of India for three ODIs will go ahead after the organisation completed a risk assessment regarding the spread of COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) across the world. While South Africa reported its first confirmed case of the virus on Thursday, India’s health ministry has estimated infections are affecting around 30