England Tour of South Africa 2026: Match Dates, Squads, and Venues

The England cricket team are set to tour the South Africa national cricket team for a three-match Test series across the festive window in December 2026, followed by a 50-over leg in early 2027, although a scheduled T20I series has been cancelled. The red-ball contest begins on December 17 at one of the smallest cricket stadiums in the world, Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg.

The action then shifts to SuperSport Park for the second Test, beginning on December 26, before the series concludes at Newlands Cricket Ground from January 3, 2027. On their previous Test visit in 2019/20, England came back from losing the first Test to clinch the four-match series by 3-1.

Once the upcoming Test series wraps up, the teams will transition to three One-Day Internationals, beginning on January 10 at Boland Park in Paarl. However, the T20I leg originally added to the tour has been withdrawn because of a scheduling overlap with South Africa’s domestic T20 competition, the SA20.

SA vs ENG Schedule 2026

The England Tour of South Africa 2026 is scheduled to run from mid-December 2026 to mid-January 2027, featuring a three-match Test series followed by a three-match ODI series across some of the country’s most iconic venues. The red-ball leg begins at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg. The ODI series gets underway at Boland Park on January 10, followed by back-to-back fixtures at Mangaung Oval.

Before England’s arrival, South Africa will host Australia for a three-Test series starting October 9 in Durban, their first red-ball meeting in the country since the 2018 tour marked by the ball-tampering scandal involving Steve Smith. Bangladesh will also tour in November for two Tests in Johannesburg and Pretoria, along with three ODIs and three T20Is.

SA vs ENG Squads 2026

Both South Africa and England have some of the best cricketers in the world. The official squads have not yet been confirmed, as the series is still quite a few months away. Temba Bavuma is the frontrunner to captain the Proteas in both Tests and ODIs, whereas England is likely to rely on Ben Stokes for captaincy in Tests and Harry Brook to take charge in the 50-over matches.

England Test Squad for South Africa Tour 2026 (Probable)

Ben Stokes (c), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Josh Tongue, Mark Wood.

England ODI Squad for South Africa Tour 2026 (Probable)

Harry Brook (c), Rehan Ahmed, Jofra Archer, Sonny Baker, Tom Banton, Jacob Bethell, Jos Buttler, Brydon Carse, Sam Curran, Liam Dawson, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Luke Wood.

South Africa Test Squad for England Series 2026 (Probable)

Temba Bavuma (C), Corbin Bosch, Dewald Brevis, Tony de Zorzi, Zubayr Hamza, Simon Harmer, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Senuran Muthusamy, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs and Kyle Verreynne

South Africa ODI Squad for England Series 2026 (Probable)

Temba Bavuma (captain), Ottneil Baartman, Corbin Bosch, Matthew Breetzke, Dewald Brevis, Nandre Burger, Quinton de Kock, Tony de Zorzi, Rubin Hermann, Keshav Maharaj, Marco Jansen, Aiden Markram, Lungi Ngidi, Ryan Rickelton, Prenelan Subrayen.