List of South Africa national cricket captains explained

South Africa played its first Test match in cricket in 1889 against England at Port Elizabeth, becoming the third Test nation after England and Australia. This is a list of the men and women who have been the official South African captains in cricket.

South Africa was a founder member of the International Cricket Council in 1909. However, the South African team did not play official Test cricket from 1970 to 1991, having been suspended from membership by the ICC as a result of controversy over apartheid (most particularly the reaction to the Basil d'Oliveira affair). There were a number of rebel tours to South Africa in the intervening period, but none of the matches are recognised as official Test matches and are italicised below. South Africa rejoined the ICC, and resumed playing official Test cricket, in 1991.

Men's cricket

Test match captains

This is a list of cricketers who have captained the South African cricket team for at least one Test match. Where a player has a dagger (†) next to a Test match series in which he captained at least one Test, that denotes that player deputised for the appointed captain or were appointed by the home authority for a minor proportion in a series. The dagger classification follows that adopted by Wisden Cricketers' Almanack.

The table of results is complete up to the second Test against Australia in December 2022.

South African Test match captains^[1]
Number	Image	Name	Season	Report	Opposition	Location	Played	Won	Lost	Drawn
1			1888–89			South Africa	1	0	1	0
2			1888–89			South Africa	1	0	1	0
			1891–92			South Africa	1	0	1	0
			Total				2	0	2	0
3		Ernest Halliwell	1895–96			South Africa	2	0	2	0
			1902–03			South Africa	1	0	1	0
			Total				3	0	3	0
4			1895–96†			South Africa	1	0	1	0
5			1898–99			South Africa	2	0	2	0
6			1902–03			South Africa	1	0	0	1
7			1902–03			South Africa	1	0	1	0
8			1905–06			South Africa	5	4	1	0
			1907			England	3	0	1	2
			1910–11			Australia	5	1	4	0
			Total				13	5	6	2
9			1909–10			South Africa	5	3	2	0
10			1912			England	2	0	2	0
			1912			England	1	0	1	0
			Total				3	0	3	0
11			1912			England	2	0	2	0
			1912			England	1	0	0	1
			Total				3	0	2	1
12		Herbie Taylor	1913–14			South Africa	5	0	4	1
			1921–22			South Africa	3	0	1	2
			1922–23			South Africa	5	1	2	2
			1924			England	5	0	3	2
			Total				18	1	10	7
13		Nummy Deane	1927–28			South Africa	5	2	2	1
			1929			England	5	0	2	3
			1930–31			South Africa	2	0	0	2
			Total				12	2	4	6
14			1930–31†			South Africa	1	1	0	0
15		Jock Cameron	1930–31			South Africa	2	0	0	2
			1931–32			Australia	5	0	5	0
			1931–32			New Zealand	2	2	0	0
			Total				9	2	5	2
16		Herbie Wade	1935			England	5	1	0	4
			1935–36			South Africa	5	0	4	1
			Total				10	1	4	5
17		Alan Melville	1938–39			South Africa	5	0	1	4
			1947			England	5	0	3	2
			Total				10	0	4	6
18		Dudley Nourse	1948–49			South Africa	5	0	2	3
			1949–50			South Africa	5	0	4	1
			1951			England	5	1	3	1
			Total				15	1	9	5
19		Jack Cheetham	1952–53			Australia	5	2	2	1
			1952–53			New Zealand	2	1	0	1
			1953–54			South Africa	5	4	0	1
			1955			England	3	0	3	0
			Total				15	7	5	3
20		Jackie McGlew	1955†			England	2	2	0	0
			1956–57†			South Africa	1	0	1	0
			1957–58†			South Africa	1	0	0	1
			1960			England	5	0	3	2
			1961–62			South Africa	5	2	2	1
			Total				14	4	6	4
21		Clive van Ryneveld	1956–57			South Africa	4	2	1	1
			1957–58			South Africa	4	0	3	1
			Total				8	2	4	2
22		Trevor Goddard	1963–64			Australia	5	1	1	3
			1963–64			New Zealand	3	0	0	3
			1964–65			South Africa	5	0	1	4
			Total				13	1	2	10
23		Peter van der Merwe	1965			England	3	1	0	2
			1966–67			South Africa	5	3	1	1
			Total				8	4	1	3
24			1969–70			South Africa	4	4	0	0
-			1981–82	Report	England	South Africa	3	1	0	2
-		Peter Kirsten	1982–83	Report	Sri Lanka	South Africa	2	2	0	0
			1982–83	Report	West Indies	South Africa	2	1	1	0
			1983–84	Report	West Indies	South Africa	2	1	0	1
			Total				6	4	1	1
-		Clive Rice	1983–84†	Report	West Indies	South Africa	2	0	2	0
			1985–86	Report	Australia	South Africa	3	1	0	2
			1986–87	Report	Australia	South Africa	4	1	0	3
			Total				9	2	2	5
-			1989–90	Report	England	South Africa	1	1	0	0
25		Kepler Wessels	1991–92			West Indies	1	0	1	0
			1992–93			South Africa	4	1	0	3
			1993–94			Sri Lanka	3	1	0	2
			1993–94			Australia	2	1	0	1
			1993–94			South Africa	3	1	1	1
			1994			England	3	1	1	1
			Total				16	5	3	8
26			1993–94†			Australia	1	0	1	0
			1994–95			South Africa	3	2	1	0
			1994–95			South Africa	1	1	0	0
			1994–95			New Zealand	1	1	0	0
			1995–96			Zimbabwe	1	1	0	0
			1995–96			South Africa	5	1	0	4
			1996–97			India	3	1	2	0
			1996–97			South Africa	3	2	0	1
			1996–97			South Africa	3	1	2	0
			1997–98			Pakistan	3	1	0	2
			1997–98			Australia	3	0	1	2
			1997–98			South Africa	2	1	1	0
			1997–98			South Africa	2	2	0	0
			1998			England	5	1	2	2
			1998–99			South Africa	5	5	0	0
			1998–99			New Zealand	3	1	0	2
			1999–2000			South Africa	1	1	0	0
			1999–2000			Zimbabwe	1	1	0	0
			1999–2000			South Africa	5	2	1	2
			1999–2000			India	2	2	0	0
			Total				53	27	11	15
27			1997–98†			South Africa	1	0	0	1
28		Shaun Pollock	2000–01			Sri Lanka	3	1	1	1
			2000–01			South Africa	3	2	0	1
			2000–01			South Africa	3	2	0	1
			2000–01			West Indies	5	2	1	2
			2001–02			Zimbabwe	2	1	0	1
			2001–02			South Africa	2	1	0	1
			2001–02			Australia	3	0	3	0
			2002–03			South Africa	1	1	0	0
			2002–03			South Africa	2	2	0	0
			2002–03			South Africa	2	2	0	0
			Total				26	14	5	7
29		Mark Boucher	2001–02			South Africa	3	1	2	0
			2002–03†			South Africa	1	1	0	0
			Total				4	2	2	0
30			2003			Bangladesh	2	2	0	0
			2003			England	5	2	2	1
			2003–04			Pakistan	2	0	1	1
			2003–04			South Africa	4	3	0	1
			2003–04			New Zealand	3	1	1	1
			2004			Sri Lanka	2	0	1	1
			2004–05			India	2	0	1	1
			2004–05			South Africa	5	1	2	2
			2004–05			South Africa	2	2	0	0
			2005			West Indies	4	2	0	2
			2005–06			Australia	3	0	2	1
			2005–06			South Africa	2	0	2	0
			2005–06			South Africa	3	2	0	1
			2006–07			South Africa	3	2	1	0
			2006–07			South Africa	3	2	1	0
			2007–08			Pakistan	2	1	0	1
			2007–08			South Africa	2	2	0	0
			2007–08			South Africa	3	2	1	0
			2007–08			Bangladesh	2	2	0	0
			2007–08			India	3	1	1	1
			2008			England	4	2	1	1
			2008–09			South Africa	2	2	0	0
			2008–09	Report		Australia	3	2	1	0
			2008–09			South Africa	2	0	2	0
			2009–10			South Africa	4	1	1	2
			2009–10			India	2	1	1	0
			2010			West Indies	3	2	0	1
			2010–11			United Arab Emirates	2	0	0	2
			2010–11			South Africa	3	1	1	1
			2011–12			South Africa	2	1	1	0
			2011–12			South Africa	3	2	1	0
			2011–12			New Zealand	3	1	0	2
			2012			England	3	2	0	1
			2012–13			Australia	3	1	0	2
			2012–13			South Africa	2	2	0	0
			2012–13			South Africa	3	3	0	0
			2013–14			United Arab Emirates	2	1	1	0
			2013–14			South Africa	2	1	0	1
			2013–14			South Africa	3	1	2	0
			Total				108	53	28	27
31			2005–06†			South Africa	1	0	1	0
			2008–09†			South Africa	1	1	0	0
			Total				2	1	1	0
32			2006			Sri Lanka	2	0	2	0
33			2014			Sri Lanka	2	1	0	1
			2014			Zimbabwe	1	1	0	0
			2014–15			South Africa	3	2	0	1
			2015			Bangladesh	2	0	0	2
			2015–16			India	4	0	3	1
			2015–16			South Africa	2	0	1	1
			Total				14	4	4	6
34			2015–16			South Africa	2	1	1	0
			2017–18†			South Africa	1	1	0	0
			Total				3	2	1	0
35		Faf du Plessis	2016†			South Africa	2	1	0	1
			2016–17†			Australia	3	2	1	0
			2016–17			South Africa	3	3	0	0
			2016–17			New Zealand	3	1	0	2
			2017			England	3	1	2	0
			2017–18			South Africa	2	2	0	0
			2017–18			South Africa	3	2	1	0
			2017–18			South Africa	4	3	1	0
			2018			Sri Lanka	2	0	2	0
			2018–19			South Africa	2	2	0	0
			2018–19			South Africa	2	0	2	0
			2019–20			India	3	0	3	0
			2019–20			South Africa	4	1	3	0
			Total				36	18	15	3
36		Dean Elgar	2017†			England	1	0	1	0
			2018–19†			South Africa	1	1	0	0
			2021			West Indies	2	2	0	0
			2021–22	Report		South Africa	3	2	1	0
			2021–22			New Zealand	2	1	1	0
			2021–22			South Africa	2	2	0	0
			2022			England	3	1	2	0
			2022–23			Australia	2	0	2	0
			Total				13	9	7	0
37		Quinton de Kock	2020–21			South Africa	2	2	0	0
			2020–21			Pakistan	2	0	2	0
			Total				4	2	2	0
38		Temba Bavuma	2023	Report	West Indies	South Africa	2	2	0	0
Grand total							459	177	158	124

One Day International captains

This is a complete list of cricketers who have captained South Africa in at least one One Day International. Updated on 21 March 2023.

South African ODI captains^[2]
Number	Name	Period of captaincy	Played	Won	Lost	Tied	No result	% won
1		1991	3	1	2	0	0	33.33
2		1992–1994	52	20	30	0	2	40.00
3		1994–2000	138	99	35	1	3	73.70
4		2000–2005	92	59	29	3	1	66.48
5		2003–2011	149	92	51	1	5	64.23
6		2003	1	1	0	0	0	100.00
7		2005	1	1	0	0	0	100.00
8		2006–2010	13	6	6	0	1	50.00
9		2008–2010	10	8	2	0	0	80.00
10		2011–2015	9	4	5	0	0	44.44
11		2012–2017	103	59	39	1	4	60.10
12		2013–2019	39	28	10	0	1	73.68
13		2018-2023	12	6	6	0	0	50.00
14		2018–2020	8	4	3	0	1	57.14
15		2018	2	2	0	0	0	100.00
16	Temba Bavuma	2021–present	33	17	15	0	1	50.00
17	Keshav Maharaj	2021-2022	7	2	3	0	2	40.00
18	David Miller	2022	1	0	1	0	0	0.00
Grand total			652	397	228	6	21	60.88

Twenty20 International captains

This is a list of cricketers who have captained South Africa for at least one Twenty20 International.

Updated on 23 October 2021.

South Africa Twenty20 International captains^[3]
Number	Name	Period of captaincy	Played	Won	Lost	Tied	No result	% won
1		2005–2010	27	18	9	0	0	66.66
2		2007	1	0	1	0	0	0.00
3		2008–2012	11	8	3	0	0	72.72
4		2011	2	1	1	0	0	50.00
5		2012–2017	18	8	9	0	1	47.05
6		2012–2019	37	23	13	1	0	63.51
7		2014–2019	11	6	5	0	0	54.54
8		2015	1	1	0	0	0	100.00
9		2017	3	1	2	0	0	33.33
10		2019	2	1	1	0	0	50.00
11		2019-2021	11	3	8	0	0	27.27
12		2021	7	2	5	0	0	28.57
13	Temba Bavuma	2021–2023	9	6	3	0	0	66.66
14	Keshav Maharaj	2021	3	3	0	0	0	100.00
15	Aiden Markram	2023–present	8	2	6	0	0	25.00
Grand total			145	82	61	1	1	57.34

Women's cricket

Women's Test match captains

This is a list of cricketers who have captained the South African women's cricket team for at least one women's Test match. Where a player has a dagger (†) next to a Test match series in which she captained at least one Test, that denotes that player was captain for a minor proportion in a series.

South African women's Test captains^[4]
Number	Name	Season	Opposition	Location	Played	Won	Lost	Drawn	% won
1				South Africa	4	0	1	3	0.00
2				South Africa	3	0	1	2	0.00
3				South Africa	1	0	1	0	0.00
4				England	2	0	1	1	0.00
5				Netherlands	1	1	0	0	100.00
6				India	1	0	1	0	0.00
7				England	1	0	0	1	0.00
8	Laura Wolvaardt	2024	India	India	1
Grand total					13	1	5	7	7.69

Women's One-Day International captains

This is a list of cricketers who have captained the South African women's cricket team for at least one women's one-day international. The table of results is complete up to the third WODI against India on 12 March 2021.

South African women's ODI captains^[5]
Number	Name	Year	Played	Won	Lost	Tied	No result	% won
1		1997–2000	26	13	12	0	1	52.00
2		1999	3	0	3	0	0	0.00
3		1999–2002	6	2	3	0	1	40.00
4		2003–2005	19	4	14	0	1	22.22
5		2007–2011	23	16	6	0	1	72.72
6		2009	7	3	3	1	0	50.00
7		2009	1	0	1	0	0	0.00
8		2011–2016	46	24	19	0	3	55.81
9		2016	5	3	2	0	0	66.6
10		2016–2021	50	29	18	2	1	61.22
11		2016	1	0	1	0	0	0.00
12		2017–present	34	19	11	2	2	62.50
13		2017–2018	4	3	1	0	0	75.00
14		2021	2	2	0	0	0	100.00
Grand total			227	118	94	5	10	51.98

Women's Twenty20 Internationals

This is a list of cricketers who have captained the South African women's cricket team for at least one Women's Twenty20 International. It is complete up to the sixth T20I against India on 4 October 2019.

South African women's T20I captains^[6]
Number	Name	Year	Played	Won	Lost	Tied	No result	% won
1		2007–2010	12	3	9	0	0	25.00
2		2009	5	0	5	0	0	0.00
3		2009	1	0	1	0	0	0.00
4		2011–2016	50	24	25	0	1	48.97
5		2014–2021	30	15	13	0	2	50.00
6		2016	2	1	1	0	0	50.00
7		2018–2022	6	3	3	0	0	50.00
8		2019–present	26	12	13	0	0	48.00
Grand total			132	58	70	0	3	43.93

Youth cricket

Test match captains

This is a list of cricketers who have captained the South African U-19 cricket team for at least one under-19 Test match. The table of results is complete to the away second Test against India in February 2019. Where a player has a dagger (†) next to a Test match series in which he captained at least one Test, that denotes that player was captain for a minor proportion in a series.

South African Under-19 Test match captains^[7]
Number	Name	Year	Opposition	Location	Played	Won	Lost	Drawn
1		1995		England	3	0	2	1
2		1996		India	3	1	1	1
3		1997		South Africa	3	0	2	1
4		1997		South Africa	2	0	0	2
5		1999		Pakistan	3	0	1	2
6		2001		New Zealand	3	0	2	1
7		2003		England	3	2	0	1
8		2007/08		South Africa	1	0	0	1
		2008		South Africa	1	0	0	1
		Total			2	0	0	2
9		2008		South Africa	1	0	1	0
10		2013		South Africa	2	1	1	0
11		2014		England	2	0	0	2
12	Wiaan Mulder	2016		Sri Lanka	3	0	0	3
13	Wandile Makwetu	2018		England	2	0	2	0
14	Matt Montgomery	2019		India	2	0	2	0
Grand total					34	4	14	16

Youth One-day International captains

This is a list of cricketers who have captained the South African Under-19 cricket team for at least one Under-19 One Day International. The table of results is complete up to the conclusion of the away fifth ODI against Bangladesh in July 2023.

South African Under-19 ODI captains^[8]
Number	Name	Year	Played	Won	Lost	No result
1		1995	2	0	2	0
2		1996	3	0	3	0
3		1997	1	1	0	0
4		1997	2	1	1	0
5		1998	8	7	1	0
6		1999–2000	9	5	3	1
7		2001	2	0	1	1
8		2001	1	1	0	0
9		2002	8	5	3	0
10		2003	2	1	0	1
11		2004	6	3	3	0
12		2005–2006	10	3	7	0
13		2008–2009	6	3	3	0
14		2008	8	4	4	0
15		2009–2010	9	6	3	0
16		2010–2011	16	13	2	1
17		2011	1	1	0	0
18		2012	9	5	4	0
20		2012	1	1	0	0
21		2012	6	5	1	0
22		2013	4	4	0	0
23		2013	5	3	2	0
24		2013–2014	8	8	0	0
25		2014–2015	9	0	9	0
26		2014	1	0	1	0
27		2015–2016	13	6	7	0
28		2015	1	0	1	0
29		2015	1	0	1	0
30	Wiaan Mulder	2016-2017	9	6	3	0
31	Mitchell Van Buuren	2017	2	2	2	0
32	Raynard van Tonder	2017-2018	14	7	7	0
33	Wandile Makwetu	2018	2	2	0	0
34		2019	2	2	0	0
35	Bryce Parsons	2019-2020	17	4	13	0
36	Khanya Cotani	2019	3	0	3	0
37	George Van Heerden	2021-2022	10	5	5	0
38	David Teeger	2023	3	1	2	0
39	Juan James	2023	2	1	1	0
Grand total			216	116	97	4

See also

• List of South African Test cricketers
• List of South African ODI cricketers

References

• Wisden Cricketers' Almanack
• Cricinfo StatsGuru
• CricketArchive

Notes and References

1. Web site: List of captains: South Africa – Tests . Cricinfo . 3 February 2016.
2. Web site: List of captains: South Africa – ODIs . Cricinfo . 14 February 2016.
3. Web site: List of captains: South Africa – T20 . Cricinfo . 3 February 2016.
4. Web site: List of captains: South Africa women – Tests . Cricinfo . 3 February 2016.
5. Web site: List of captains: South Africa women – ODI . Cricinfo . 3 February 2016.
6. Web site: List of captains: South Africa women – T20 . Cricinfo . 3 February 2016.
7. Web site: List of captains: South Africa Under-19s – Tests . Cricinfo . 3 February 2016.
8. Web site: List of captains: South Africa Under-19s – ODIs . Cricinfo . 12 February 2016.