England v South Africa 2017 – Head to Head stats in Tests

England v South Africa is one of the most frequent battles in the Test cricket as both the teams have faced each other 145 times in this format; the 3rd most after England-Australia and England-Windies despite South Africa’s absence from the International cricket for over 20 years. The English’s dominance over the African side is clearly visible by their dictating record but the major part of it was played before South Africa’s break from International cricket. However, over the last 25 years, it is tough to say which side holds the lead with both the teams having a similar record, which is slightly tilted towards the Saffers. Being the hosts England have a solid record at home over the visitors but since their re-entry in the International circuit, South Africa actually enjoys an upper hand over the hosts on English soil in the longer format. Head to head record between England and South Africa in Test cricket: Host Matches England Won South Africa Won Draw Overall 145 58 32 55 England 64 27 13 24 South Africa 81 31 19 31 Since South Africa’s readmission in 1992: Host Matches England Won South Africa Won Draw Overall 43 12 14 17 England 20 6 8 11 South Africa 23 6 6 6 Record by time period: Period Matches England Won South Africa Won Draw 1800s 8 8 0 0 1901-1950 66 26 12 28 1951-1970 28 12 6 10 1994-2005 28 9 8 11 2008-2016 15 3 6 6 Before readmission 102 46 18 38 After readmission 43 12 14 17 The bilateral Test series between England and South Africa was named after the South African-born England player, Basil D’Oliveira in 2004. So far 5 series’ have been played on this name with the Proteas winning both the series hosted by England while the English side has won two of the three hosted by SA out of which one ended in a draw. Bilateral series summary: Series England Won South Africa Won Drawn Overall 34 20 9 5 England 15 9 4 2 South Africa 19 11 5 3 Since readmission 10 3 4 3 Basil D’Oliveira Trophy 5 2 2 1 Among the top 10 lowest scores in the England-South Africa Tests, the top 9 are in the name of South Africa who were bowled out under 75 on 9 occasions by the English team. Seven times teams have managed to score 600+ totals in ENG-SA Tests with two of those coming in the Cape Town Test played last year. Highest team totals in England-South Africa Tests: Team Score Overs Inns Ground Date South Africa 682/6d 177 2 Lord’s 31-Jul-2003 England 654/5 218.2×8 4 Durban 3-Mar-1939 South Africa 637/2d 189 2 The Oval 19-Jul-2012 England 629/6d 125.5 1 Cape Town 2-Jan-2016 South Africa 627/7d 211 2 Cape Town 2-Jan-2016 England 608 149.5×8 1 Johannesburg 27-Dec-1948 England 604/9d 162 2 The Oval 4-Sep-2003 Lowest team totals in England-South Africa Tests: Team Score Overs Inns Ground Date South Africa 30 18.4×5 4 Port Elizabeth 13-Feb-1896 South Africa 30 12.3 2 Birmingham 14-Jun-1924 South Africa 35 22.4×5 4 Cape Town 1-Apr-1899 South Africa 43 28.2×4 3 Cape Town 25-Mar-1889 South Africa 47 47.1×4 2 Cape Town 25-Mar-1889 South Africa 58 26.1 1 Lord’s 10-Jun-1912 South Africa 72 50.1×8 4 Cape Town 1-Jan-1957 South Africa 72 33.4×8 4 Johannesburg 24-Dec-1956 South Africa 75 44.4 4 Leeds 29-Jul-1907 England 76 36.3 1 Leeds 29-Jul-1907 Individual records: South Africa’s Bruce Mitchell and Shaun Pollock are the highest run-scorers and wicket-takers in the ENG-SA Tests with 2732 runs and 91 wickets respectively on their names. Among the current players, South Africa’s Hashim Amla is the highest scorer while the England pacer James Anderson is the top wicket-taker in ENG-SA Test matches. Highest run-getters in England-South Africa Tests: Player Team Mat Inns Runs HS Ave 100s 50s B Mitchell South Africa 30 57 2732 189* 54.64 7 16 HW Taylor South Africa 30 54 2287 176 44.84 7 13 DCS Compton England 24 42 2205 208 53.78 7 11 WR Hammond England 24 42 2188 181 62.51 6 14 JH Kallis South Africa 31 51 2141 182* 44.6 8 8 GC Smith South Africa 21 39 2051 277 56.97 7 7 AD Nourse South Africa 24 43 2037 208 55.05 7 9 G Kirsten South Africa 22 35 1608 275 48.72 5 7 HM Amla South Africa 17 30 1574 311* 56.21 6 4 Highest wicket-takers in England-South Africa Tests: Player Team Mat Inns Wkts BBI BBM Ave SR 5WI 10WM SM Pollock South Africa 23 42 91 6/39 8/80 23.73 62.8 3 0 AA Donald South Africa 17 30 86 6/53 11/127 23.04 45.4 9 1 SF Barnes England 7 14 83 9/103 17/159 9.85 25.5 12 6 HJ Tayfield South Africa 15 24 75 9/113 13/192 22.1 70.4 7 1 CL Vincent South Africa 18 30 72 6/51 8/149 27.31 62.9 3 0 M Ntini South Africa 18 34 70 5/75 10/220 34.35 60.7 3 1 JB Statham England 16 32 69 7/39 11/97 20.66 56.9 4 1 GA Faulkner South Africa 17 30 68 7/84 9/75 21.64 45.3 4 0 JM Anderson England 20 35 64 5/63 8/161 38.6 74.8 2 0 (Stats as on July 5, 2017)

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England v South Africa 2017 – Head to Head stats in Tests

The bilateral Test series between England and South Africa was named after the South African-born England player, Basil D'Oliveira in 2004.

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