South Africa will not host any men’s Tests next summer, in accordance with the Future Tours Programme (FTP), and only have one inbound tour – a five-match T20I series against West Indies – in the 2025-26 season. This is the first time since readmission that South Africa will not host men’s Tests with the next long-format home fixtures scheduled for October 2026 against Australia.
The lean schedule will allow for Cricket South Africa to focus on stadium upgrades ahead of the 2027 ODI World Cup which will be co-hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia. Several of the country’s premier grounds will have makeovers including new floodlights and drop-in pitches, which will be prepared well ahead of time and tested before the main event.
It will also give the South African women’s side the spotlight, as they host Ireland and Pakistan for three T20Is and three ODIs each. They will play matches at all of South Africa’s big five venues: Newlands in Cape Town, St George’s Park in Gqeberha, the Wanderers in Johannesburg, SuperSport Park in Centurion and Kingsmead in Durban
The women’s team will visit the smaller centres in Paarl, Benoni, East London, Potchefstroom, Bloemfontein and Kimberley as well, meaning they will have a match at all the country’s major grounds in the same season. The Pakistan series also marks the first round of the new Women’s Championship cycle, leading up to the 2029 ODI World Cup.
“We are looking forward to seeing our women take on Ireland and Pakistan,” CSA CEO Pholetsi Moseki said in a release. “These tours not only provide our team with strong competition but also give our fans an opportunity to watch the Proteas Women compete at their favourite venues across the country.
Moseki explained the men’s international window as being “unusually shorter next season due to outbound bilateral tours,” with South Africa’s white-ball sides touring Australia and England in August and September and the Test team due to play two-match series in Pakistan and India in November and December.
The absence of home Tests has also allowed the SA20 to move into the festive window for the first and only time. It will be played between December 26 and January 26, with the West Indies series to follow immediately afterwards. The five matches are spread between the coastal venues and the Highveld but neither Gqeberha nor Durban will host a game. South African players will therefore have six weeks of T20 cricket before the T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka, which starts in February.
CSA have also arranged one A tour, against New Zealand A, which will include three one-day matches and two four-day matches at the start of the summer. The games will be played in Pretoria and Potchefstroom.
The dearth of home Tests next summer will be followed by a boon in the 2026-27 season when South Africa’s men will host England and Australia for three Tests each and Bangladesh for two matches while the women’s team will play Tests against India and Australia for a total of 10 Tests.
Firdose Moonda is ESPNcricinfo’s correspondent for South Africa and women’s cricket
Content Source: www.espncricinfo.com