The South Africa National Cricket Team vs New Zealand National Cricket Team timeline is a tale of competitiveness, emotional peaks and the sport’s theatre. It all began with their first test match in 1932. Since then, a rivalry was born based on mutual respect, and fighting spirit grew. From going out of World Cups to exciting last-hour test matches, every single time has helped to tell their cricketing story. South Africa’s aggressive pace attack and New Zealand’s never-say-die attitude have continued to excite many fans around the world. Over the last decade and turnover, team cultures and personalities have changed, along with the style of play and tactics embraced by each team. However, the dramas that have unfolded between South Africa and New Zealand have been unparalleled. In this timeline, South Africa and New Zealand tell the shared journey of some important moments and results that have defined their rivalry.
Early Encounters: 1930s to 1960s
- 1931-1932 New Zealand v South Africa: When they played their first Test, the Proteas were very much on top against the Kiwis. In 1932, they beat New Zealand by an innings and 12 runs in the first Test match played in Christchurch. South Africa won the second Test match played in Wellington by eight wickets, showing solid bowling and an incredible batting display.
- 1952-1953 New Zealand v South Africa: Twenty years later, the two teams faced off again in New Zealand, where South Africa won the first Test by 180 runs and an innings, and the second Test concluded in a tie. In the first innings of South Africa, Derrick McGlew made his highest-ever Test score of 255 not out, helping South Africa achieve a mammoth total of 524 overall.
- 1953-1954 South Africa v New Zealand: In South Africa, the Kiwis and Proteas faced off in a 5 Test match series. Apart from the third Test which was drawn, South Africa had a clean sweep against the Kiwis with four victories.
- 1961-1962 South Africa v New Zealand: After they beat the Proteas in their first Test match, it was the lore of the series for the New Zealanders. They won the third Test of the series by 72 runs as well. They tied the series at 2-2. South Africa won the first game and fourth game; New Zealand won the second game and fifth game; and the second game was a draw. This series was a demonstration of the growing strength of the New Zealand National Cricket Team against the South African National Cricket Team.
1990s to 2000s: The Comeback of South Africa to International Cricket
- 1991-1992 Benson & Hedges World Cup: South Africa’s first One Day International match was against New Zealand in the tenth match of the Benson & Hedges World Cup in 1991-1992. They batted first and, despite losing four wickets, scored 190 for the first innings. New Zealand chased down their score and convincingly won the match by 7 wickets with 15 balls to spare, finishing the chase in 34.3 overs.
- 1998-1999 New Zealand v South Africa: South Africa won the seven-match series 3-2. They won the second, fifth, and sixth matches and New Zealand won the first and third. The fourth match and the seventh match were draws. South African stars included Shaun Pollock, Allan Donald, Daryll Cullinan, Lance Klusener, Hansie Cronje, Gary Kirsten, and Jacques Kallis. Distinguished Kiwis included Chris Harris, Dion Nash, Geoffrey Allott, Roger Twose, and Nathan Astle.
- 2003-2004 New Zealand v South Africa: New Zealand won the six-match ODI series 5-1, marking the Black Caps’ first series win over the Proteas. In the first match, South Africa won by five wickets thanks to 72 from Graeme Smith. In the second match, the Kiwis won by five wickets thanks to an innings of 108 from Stephen Fleming. In the third match, Scott Styris took two wickets, restricting Herschelle Gibbs to 69 and preventing Graeme Smith from reaching a half-century. Hamish Marshall hit 74 and took his team over the line with a 6-wicket victory in the fourth match. In the fifth match, New Zealand secured a victory by 2 runs using the D/L method; Michael Papps’ innings scored 92 which contributed to South Africa losing by a margin of 5 wickets.
- 2005-2006 South Africa v New Zealand: In 2005, South Africa and New Zealand played their first Twenty20 match. The Black Caps chased down the required runs in 18 overs with 5 wickets to spare, despite the Proteas batting first scoring 133.
- 2007-2008 South Africa v New Zealand: The Black Caps lost the Test series at home to South Africa, losing the first Test by 358 runs and the second Test by 59 runs and an innings. Dale Steyn took five wickets in both innings. The high run makers for the first Test were Hashim Amla (176) and Jacques Kallis (186). Dale Steyn had 4 and 6 wickets in the first and second. Again, Hashim Amla (103) and Jacques Kallis (131) were the high run makers for New Zealand in the second Test.
- 2009 ICC World Twenty20: In the tenth match of the 2009 ICC World Twenty20, South Africa won by 1 run. The Kiwis put South Africa in to bat first and restricted them to 128. Despite Brendon McCullum’s 57 runs. The Proteas held the Kiwis to just 127 runs, winning the match by just 1 run.
- 2009–10 ICC Champions Trophy: The third match in the 2009–10 Champions Trophy was played between the two teams at SuperSport Park. The game was held at SuperSport Park and New Zealand were asked to bat first, scoring 214 runs with Ross Taylor’s (72) runs ensuring they were able to have a competitive score. AB de Villiers hit an unbeaten 70, helping South Africa comfortably reach the target score. Wayne Parnell took five important New Zealand wickets and the majority of the top New Zealand batsmen, making him the Player of the game.
2010s to Recent Encounters
- 2011 ICC World Cup: The 3rd Quarterfinal of the World Cup was held in Dhaka, where South Africa played New Zealand. New Zealand won by 49 runs, thanks to Jacob Oram’s four wickets, which kept the Proteas’ total down to 172. In the first innings, the Kiwis made 221. Jesse Ryder made significant contributions with 83.
- 2015 ICC World Cup: The two teams played the first semifinal of the 2015 Cup in Auckland on March 24, 2015. South Africa were 281 for 5 at 43 overs. New Zealand completed a D/L 299 runs chase, winning by 4 wickets, despite the match being well with 6 oversized wickets. Grant Elliott’s exceptional innings of 84, supported by Brendon McCullum’s 59 runs, were also crucial to the run chase.
- 2021-2022 New Zealand v South Africa: In the first test match of the series, Matt Henry was brilliant with the ball, taking 7 and 2 wickets in the first and second innings of the Proteas respectively to keep their total manageable, and a big reason New Zealand won the first test match by an innings and 276 runs. Tim Southee had picked up 5 wickets in the second innings. Matt Henry also scored an unbeaten 58 runs during his brief cameo in New Zealand, hitting 1st innings. But in Test Match 2, South Africa leveled the series with a comfortable win of 198 runs. New Zealand could only manage scores of 293 and 227, while the Proteas scored 364 and 354/9 in their innings. The highest run scorers for the Proteas were Kyle Verreynne (136) and Sarel Erwee (108). New Zealand could not progress with their run chase on their 2nd innings bowling effort, where they lost 3 wickets each to Kagiso Rabada, Marco Jansen, and Keshav Maharaj.
- 2024-2025 ICC Champions Trophy: In Lahore, New Zealand won by 50 runs, whilst in the second semi-final of the Champions Trophy, New Zealand scored 362 runs for 6 wickets with contributions of 102 & 108 by Kane Williamson and Rachin Ravindra respectively. Even though David Miller scored a century, Mitchell Santner claimed Temba Bavuma, Rassie van der Dussen and Heinrich Klaasen to restrict South Africa to 312.
Both South Africa and New Zealand are contemplating their next games, and from there, we can expect to see even greater contests, rivalry and battles between them as each team is continually learning and adapting and elevating their rivalry with every contest. With every battle, we have more stories to pacify us over this classic fight of cricket.
