By Lynn Butler.
Cricket South Africa (CSA) on Thursday confirmed the Proteas’ home schedule for the 2025/26 international calendar, with no Tests in the country over the festive season.
CSA announced a white-ball heavy schedule for both the men’s and women’s national teams, with the SA20 set to be the major cricket attraction at the end of the year.
With no international cricket scheduled for the Proteas in December and January, the fourth season of the SA20 has been brought forward and will start on Boxing Day (26 December) with the final set for 26 January 2026.
The Proteas then play a five-match T20I series against the West Indies from 27 January to 6 February, before Aiden Markram’s charges head to the subcontinent for the 2026 ICC T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.
Following the World Test Championship final at Lord’s in June this year, the Proteas only have four scheduled away Tests: against Pakistan (two Tests in October) and India (two Tests in November).
Their next scheduled home Test is only in October 2026 against Australia.
The Proteas women will have a busy summer with Ireland and Pakistan featuring in homebound white-ball tours.
Both tours consist of three T20 Internationals (T20Is) and three One-Day Internationals (ODIs), with South Africa set to welcome Ireland from 5-19 December 2025 and Pakistan from 10 February to 1 March 2026.
Laura Wolvaardt’s team will play at Newlands for the first time since reaching the 2023 T20 World Cup final and will also play in their first match at the Wanderers since 2022.
The Pakistan series also marks the first round of the new International Women’s Championship (IWC) cycle, leading up to the 2029 Women’s World Cup.
“We are looking forward to seeing our women take on Ireland and Pakistan,” said CSA chief executive officer Pholetsi Moseki in a statement.
“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.
“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 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.
“We are also pleased to be hosting national development tours, with South Africa A tours a regular feature in our summer fixtures, along with the SA U19 tours, which are crucial for our national pipeline.”
South Africa A will face New Zealand A in three 50-over matches (30 August to 4 September) and two four-day matches (7-17 September) in Pretoria and Potchefstroom.
In addition to the senior fixtures, the SA U19 men will continue their preparations for the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup in 2026 with a three-match Youth ODI series against Bangladesh from 17-22 July at Willowmoore Park in Benoni.
Proteas men’s T20I Series against West Indies 2026
1st T20I – Tuesday, 27 January at 18:00 – South Africa v West Indies – Boland Park, Paarl
2nd T20I – Thursday, 29 January at 18:00 – South Africa v West Indies – Newlands, Cape Town
3rd T20I – Sunday, 1 February at 14:30 – South Africa v West Indies – Buffalo Park, East London
4th T20I – Wednesday, 4 February at 18:00 – South Africa v West Indies – SuperSport Park, Centurion
5th T20I – Friday, 6 February at 18:00 – South Africa v West Indies – Wanderers, Johannesburg
Proteas Women Inbound Tour against Ireland 2025
1st T20I – Friday, 5 December at 18:00 – South Africa v Ireland – Newlands, Cape Town
2nd T20I – Sunday, 7 December at 14:00 – South Africa v Ireland – Boland Park, Paarl
3rd T20I – Wednesday, 10 December at 18:00 – South Africa v Ireland – Willowmoore Park, Benoni
1st ODI – Saturday, 13 December at 10:00 – South Africa v Ireland – Buffalo Park, East London
2nd ODI – Tuesday, 16 December at 10:00 – South Africa v Ireland – St George’s Park, Gqeberha
3rd ODI – Friday, 19 December at 14:00 – South Africa v Ireland – Wanderers, Johannesburg
Proteas Women Inbound Tour against Pakistan 2026
1st T20I Tuesday, 10 February at 18:00 – South Africa v Pakistan – JB Marks Oval, Potchefstroom
2nd T20I – Friday, 13 February at 18:00 – South Africa v Pakistan – Willowmoore Park, Benoni
3rd T20I – Monday, 16 February at 18:00 – South Africa v Pakistan – Kimberley Oval, Kimberley
1st ODI – Sunday, 22 February at 10:00 – South Africa v Pakistan – Mangaung Oval, Bloemfontein
2nd ODI – Wednesday, 25 February at 14:00 – South Africa v Pakistan – SuperSport Park, Centurion
3rd ODI – Sunday, 01 March at 10:00 – (Black Day) South Africa v Pakistan – Kingsmead, Durban.