The South African cricket team toured England in 2012 to play three

Test matches Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to: * Test cricket * Test match (indoor cricket) * Test match (rugby union) * Test match (rugby league) * Test match (association football) ...

, five

One Day International A One Day International (ODI) is a form of limited overs cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of overs, currently 50, with the game lasting up to 9 hours. The Cricket World C ...

s and three

Twenty20 International A Twenty20 International (T20I) is a form of cricket, played between two of the international members of the International Cricket Council (ICC), in which each team faces a maximum of twenty overs. The matches have top-class status and are the ...

matches. The number of Test matches between the two nations had to be reduced to avoid clashes with the

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Preparations

The South Africa squad spent four days with explorer

Mike Horn Michael Horn (born 16 July 1966) is a South African-born Swiss professional explorer and adventurer. Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, he currently resides in Château d'Œx, Switzerland. He studied Human Movement Science at Stellenbosch Un ...

in Switzerland before the tour began. Horn and South Africa head coach

Gary Kirsten Gary Kirsten (born 23 November 1967) is a South African cricket coach and former cricketer. He has coached the Indian Cricket Team as well as the South African Cricket team. Kirsten played 101 Test matches and 185 One Day Internationals for So ...

had worked together during India's successful

2011 Cricket World Cup The 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup was the tenth Cricket World Cup. It was played in India, Sri Lanka, and for the first time in Bangladesh. India won the tournament, defeating Sri Lanka by 6 wickets in the final at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, thus ...

campaign. Horn's training focused on putting the team through physical exertion to improve their mental strength. Several members of the squad, including

Mark Boucher Mark Verdon Boucher (born 3 December 1976) is a South African cricket coach and former cricketer who played all three formats of the game. Boucher is regarded as one of the best wicket-keeper batsmen of all time, and holds the record for the ...

and

Dale Steyn Dale Willem Steyn (; born 27 June 1983) is a South African former professional cricketer who played for the South African Cricket Team. He is often regarded as one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time and the best Test bowler of his generat ...

, recalled the training period as being the toughest few days of their lives. He worked with the team again as a "special assistant" for further training before the third Test.

Squads

Thami Tsolekile Thami Lungisa Tsolekile (born 9 October 1980) is a South African former cricketer who played three Test matches for the national side as a wicketkeeper in 2004–05. He was educated in Cape Town at Pinelands High School. In first-class cri ...

was brought into the South African squad after

's retirement from international cricket due to an eye injury sustained in the tour match against

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

. ²

James Tredwell James Cullum Tredwell (born 27 February 1982) is an English former international cricketer. A left-handed batsman and a right-arm off break bowler, he played his domestic cricket for Kent County Cricket Club and was appointed as County Captain fo ...

was brought into the England squad to replace

Graeme Swann Graeme Peter Swann (born 24 March 1979) is an English former cricketer who played all three formats of the game. Born in Northampton, he attended Sponne School in Towcester, Northamptonshire. He was primarily a right-arm off-spinner, and also ...

after the second ODI.

Tour matches

Two-day: Somerset v South Africans

First-class: Kent v South Africans

Two-day: Worcestershire v South Africans

Two-day: Derbyshire v South Africans

List A: Gloucestershire Gladiators v South Africans

Test series

1st Test

2nd Test

3rd Test

ODI series

1st ODI

2nd ODI

3rd ODI

4th ODI

5th ODI

T20I series

1st T20I

2nd T20I

3rd T20I

Statistics

Test series

England *

Alastair Cook Sir Alastair Nathan Cook (born 25 December 1984) is an English cricketer who plays for Essex County Cricket Club, and played for England in all international formats from 2006 to 2018. A former captain of the England Test and One-Day Intern ...

scored his 20th century when he scored 115 in the first innings of the 1st Test. *

reached 1,000 career runs when he scored seven in the second innings of the 1st Test. *

Kevin Pietersen Kevin Peter Pietersen (born 27 June 1980) is a cricket commentator, conservationist, and former England international cricket player. He is a right-handed batsman and occasional off spin bowler who played in all three formats for England betw ...

reached 7,000 career runs when he scored 149 in the first innings of the 2nd Test. *

scored his 21st century when he scored 149 in the first innings of the 2nd Test. *

Andrew Strauss Sir Andrew John Strauss (born 2 March 1977) is an English cricket administrator and former player, formerly the Director of Cricket for the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). He played county cricket for Middlesex, and captained the Engla ...

reached 7,000 career runs when he scored 22 in the second innings of the 2nd Test. *

Stuart Broad Stuart may refer to: Names *Stuart (name), a given name and surname (and list of people with the name) Automobile *Stuart (automobile) Places Australia Generally *Stuart Highway, connecting South Australia and the Northern Territory Norther ...

took his sixth five-wicket haul in the second innings of the 2nd Test. *

Matt Prior Matthew James Prior (born 26 February 1982) is a South African-born English former cricketer, who played for England in Test cricket and for Sussex County Cricket Club in domestic cricket. He was a wicket-keeper and his aggressive right-handed ...

reached 3,000 career runs when he scored 73 in the second innings of the 3rd Test.

References

{{International cricket in 2012

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International cricket competitions in 2012 2012 in English cricket