women's Test match Women's Test cricket is the longest format of women's cricket and is the female equivalent to men's Test cricket. Matches comprise four-innings and are held over a maximum of four days between two of the leading cricketing nations. The rules gov ...

is an international four-

innings An innings is one of the divisions of a cricket match during which one team takes its turn to bat. Innings also means the period in which an individual player bats (acts as either striker or nonstriker). Innings, in cricket, and rounders, is bot ...

cricket match held over a maximum of four days between two of the leading cricketing nations.

Women's cricket Women's cricket is the form of the team sport of cricket when played by women only. It is played at the professional level in multiple countries around the world and 108 national teams participate internationally. 11 of them have WTest and WODI ...

was played in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

fairly regularly throughout the beginning of the 20th century, but died out during the Second World War. It was revived in 1949 by a group of enthusiasts, and in 1951

Netta Rheinberg Netta Rheinberg MBE (24 October 1911 – 18 June 2006) was an English cricketer, journalist and administrator. She appeared in one Test match for England in 1949, against Australia. She played domestic cricket for Middlesex. Her single Test mat ...

, on behalf of the

Women's Cricket Association The Women's Cricket Association (WCA) was responsible for the running of women's cricket in England between 1926 and 1998. It was formed by a group of enthusiasts following a cricket holiday in Malvern. Forty-nine games were arranged in that first ...

, suggested that a South Africa Women's Cricket Association be formed, and encouraged the possibility that a series of matches could be played between the two associations. The South Africa & Rhodesian Women's Cricket Association (SA&RWCA) was officially formed in 1952. At their annual general meeting in January 1955, the SA&RWCA accepted an invitation from the Women's Cricket Association to join an

International Women's Cricket Council The International Women's Cricket Council was formed in February 1958 by the women's cricket associations of Australia, England, the Netherlands, New Zealand and South Africa to organise international matches between the countries. In 2005 it was ...

that, in addition to

, included

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. They also agreed that international matches would be played between the four nations. In 1959, arrangements were made for the first international women's cricket tour of South Africa, as they would play host to the English team in 1960. The first Test involving South Africa women was held at St George's Park,

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha (), formerly Port Elizabeth and colloquially often referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, Sou ...

, the same venue as the one for first men's Test match in the country in 1889, and ended in a draw. South Africa then played a subsequent series against

in 1971–72. As part of the international campaign against

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

, the

Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the Co ...

signed the

Gleneagles Agreement In the Gleneagles Agreement, in 1977, Commonwealth presidents and prime ministers agreed, as part of their support for the international campaign against apartheid, to discourage contact and competition between their sportsmen and sporting organi ...

in 1977, excluding South Africa from competing in international sporting events. Because of this exclusion, they did not play another Test until hosting

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

in 2001–02, before facing England again in 2003,

the Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

in 2007, India in 2014 and most recently England in 2022. South Africa have played thirteen Test matches, seven of which were played pre-exclusion, and six of them post-exclusion. Two players,

Jennifer Gove Jennifer Anne Gove (born 28 August 1940) is a South African former cricketer who played as an all-rounder. She appeared in seven Test matches for South Africa between 1960 and 1972, and is the side's leading run-scorer in Test cricket, with 256 r ...

and

Lorna Ward Lorna Grace Ward (born 3 June 1939) is a South African former cricketer who played as a right-arm pace bowler. She appeared in seven Test matches for South Africa between 1960 and 1972, taking 27 wickets including three five-wicket hauls. She ...

, have played all seven matches pre-exclusion.

Yvonne van Mentz Yvonne van Mentz is a South African former cricketer who played as an all-rounder. She appeared in four Test matches for South Africa in 1960 and 1961, all against England. She scored South African's first century in Women's Test cricket, with ...

Brenda Williams Brenda Glynis Williams (born 6 December 1949) is a South African former cricketer who played as a right-handed batter and right-arm off break bowler. She appeared in two Test matches for South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic ...

Mignon du Preez Mignon du Preez (born 13 June 1989) is a South African cricketer, who was the women's team captain in all three forms of cricket, Test matches, ODIs and T20Is, from 2007 to 2018. A right-handed batter and occasional wicket-keeper, du Preez ...

, and Marizanne Kapp are the only South African women to have scored Test centuries, while

Jean McNaughton Jean Fay Field (; born 10 April 1936) is a South African former cricketer who played as a right-arm medium-fast bowler. She appeared in three Test matches for South Africa in 1960 and 1961, all against England. She was the first South African w ...

, Lorna Ward and

Sunette Loubser Sunette Loubser (born 26 September 1982) is a South African former cricketer who played primarily as a right-arm off break bowler. She appeared in two Test matches, 60 One Day Internationals and 43 Twenty20 Internationals for South Africa betwee ...

have all taken

five-wicket haul In cricket, a five-wicket haul (also known as a "five–for" or "fifer") occurs when a bowler takes five or more wickets in a single innings. This is regarded by critics as a notable achievement, equivalent to a century from a batsman. Takin ...

s, with Ward doing it on three occasions. This list contains every woman who has played Test cricket for South Africa. The list is initially arranged in the order in which each player won her Test cap. Where more than one player won her first Test cap in the same Test match, those players are initially listed alphabetically by the surname the player was using at the time of the match.

Key

Test cricketers

:''Statistics are correct as of 30 June 2022 after South Africa's most recent Test match, against England.''

Test captains

References

{{featured list Women Test cricketers Test cricketers