The schedule for England's tour of South Africa has been announced, with the T20Is being scrapped.
South Africa-England T20Is scrapped due to SA20 clash
On Monday (February 23), the England & Wales Cricket Board announced that "The originally planned IT20 series has been removed from the schedule due to scheduling conflicts, and both parties are exploring opportunities to reschedule it at a later date."
According to the ICC's Future Tours Program, the England men's team were set to tour South Africa for three Tests, three ODIs and three T20Is from December 2026 to February 2027.
But a revised schedule has now seen the short-format games cut out, thanks to a clash with the SA20, South Africa's T20 franchise tournament.
Prior to last season, the plan for three seasons of the tournament had already been laid out. The 2025-26 season was advanced to late December to avoid a clash with the ongoing men's T20 World Cup. The 2026-27 season was scheduled to run from January 9 to February 14, 2027.
The three England-South Africa Tests run from December 17 to January 7, and the ODI series from January 10-15. Were the original dates to hold, the ODIs would overlap with the start of the SA20. As it is, the tight squeeze means the SA20 could be postponed; indeed, early reports from South African media indicate it will be pushed by a week.
The most high-profile instance of a clash between the SA20 and an international series was in 2024, when New Zealand and South Africa played a Test series during that window. Since centrally-contracted South African players are obligated to play the SA20, a weakened side was sent to New Zealand instead – it was the only series South Africa lost en route to the 2025 World Test Championship title.
England tour of South Africa 2026-27: Schedule and full list of fixtures
Test series:
- 1st Test: 17-21 December, Wanderers, Johannesburg
- 2nd Test: 26-30 December, SuperSport Park, Centurion
- 3rd Test: 3-7 January, Newlands Cricket Ground, Cape Town
ODI series:
- 1st ODI: January 10, Boland Park, Paarl
- 2nd ODI: January 13, Manguang Oval, Bloemfontein
- 3rd ODI: January 15, Manguang Oval, Bloemfontein
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