South Africa, the 2023-25 World Test Championship title-holders, won't play a home Test until October 2026 at the earliest. Here's why.
After clinching the 2023–25 World Test Championship, South Africa’s next Test assignment comes after a long gap – a two-match series in India this November. Notably, they will not host a men’s Test match next summer, according to the Future Tour Programme (FTP), the first such gap since their readmission in 1991. Their next home fixtures in the longest format are scheduled for October 2026.
South Africa's first home series of the next WTC cycle will be a three-Test contest against Australia in October 2026, followed by two Tests against Bangladesh and three against England later that year, completing their 2025-27 WTC home fixtures. There are several factors at play which explain South Africa's 18-month hiatus from hosting Test matches.
Also read: Who has the easiest path to the 2027 World Test Championship final?
SA20 schedule shifts earlier due to T20 World Cup
The SA20 has been South Africa’s flagship tournament since its inception in 2023. Cricket South Africa (CSA) has actively prioritised the league over international commitments – a stance exemplified last year when they sent a second-string squad to New Zealand under an uncapped Test captain, while first-choice players remained for the SA20.
In all three previous editions, the tournament has been held in the January-February window. However, that's going to change this time around, given the 2026 T20 World Cup co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka is scheduled to be played from February to March. The clash in fixtures resulted in the SA20 being moved back a month, with the tournament now starting on Boxing Day (December 26) and the final set to be played on January 26.
With no international cricket scheduled for South Africa in December and January, they will host a five-match T20I series against West Indies from January 27 to February 6, prioritising the format ahead of the 2026 T20 World Cup, which will be their next major assignment.
"Our international window for men's cricket is unusually shorter next season due to outbound bilateral tours to Australia, England, Pakistan, and India between August and December. The Betway SA20 will also take place before the T20 International series against West Indies, with both providing valuable game time ahead of next year's T20 World Cup," said CSA CEO Pholetsi Moseki.
South Africa stadiums to undergo renovation for 2027 ODI World Cup
The 2027 World Cup will see the return of the tournament to South Africa for the first time since 2003, when they jointly hosted the competition with Zimbabwe and Kenya. For the upcoming edition, they will co-host with Zimbabwe and Namibia.
The lean schedule, with fewer Test matches, will allow the renovation projects CSA planned to undertake to make their stadiums ready ahead of the global event. New floodlights, drop-in pitches, among other infrastructures are in their revamp plan. CSA's ambitious project is set to cost between R200 million and R400 million.
Financial constraints?
Moseki has previously stated that hosting Test matches is less profitable for South Africa compared to the 'Big Three' (India, Australia, and England). In the 2023-27 WTC cycle, South Africa will play just 28 Tests – 10 fewer than India, 15 fewer than England, and 12 fewer than Australia. He acknowledged this disparity correlates with Test cricket’s limited financial viability in the region.
"A lot of people say we don’t play enough Tests, but they don’t even show up for the few Test matches that we have," Moseki told IOL Sport.
"Why aren’t cricket lovers coming to watch Tests? They fill up the stadiums for ODIs and T20Is, and the marketing is more or less the same. The only time Test cricket gets a full stadium in South Africa is when we play England, and even there, it’s only the Barmy Army, and that is quite frustrating.
"I love watching Test cricket, but unfortunately it’s not just about the emotions, there’s also finances that need to be covered. If it made financial sense to play three or more Tests against all opposition teams, then we’d be doing that."
The increased expenditure from CSA’s stadium renovation project offers another plausible explanation for South Africa’s long gap in home Tests.
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