List of South Africa Test cricket records

In general the top ten are listed in each category (except when there is a tie for the last place among the ten, when all the tied record holders are noted).

Listing notation

Team Notation

• (300-3) indicates that a team scored 300 runs for three wickets and the innings was closed, either due to a successful run chase or if no playing time remained.
• (300-3d) indicates that a team scored 300 runs for three wickets, and declared its innings closed.
• (300) indicates that a team scored 300 runs and was all out, either by losing all ten wickets or by having one or more batsmen unable to bat and losing the remaining wickets.

Batting Notation

• (100) indicates that a batsman scored 100 runs and was out.
• (100*) indicates that a batsman scored 100 runs and was not out.

Bowling Notation

• (5-100) indicates that a bowler has captured five wickets while giving away 100 runs.

Currently playing

• Record holders who are currently playing Test cricket (i.e. their record details listed could change) are shown in bold.

Team records

Team wins, losses, ties and draws

Matches played

Team	1st Test	Matches	Won	Lost	Drawn	Tied	% Won
South Africa	March 1889	405	148	135	122	0	36.54
Source:[1]. Last updated: 27 November 2016.

Results summary

Opposition	Span	Matches	Won	Lost	Drawn	Tied	% Won
Australia	1902–2016	94	23	51	20	0	24.46
Bangladesh	2002–2015	10	8	0	2	0	80.00
England	1889–2016	145	32	58	55	0	22.06
India	1992–2015	33	13	10	10	0	39.39
New Zealand	1932–2016	42	24	4	14	0	57.14
Pakistan	1995–2013	23	12	4	7	0	52.17
Sri Lanka	1993–2014	22	11	5	6	0	50.00
West Indies	1992–2015	28	18	3	7	0	64.28
Zimbabwe	1995–2014	8	7	0	1	0	87.50
Source:[2]. Last updated: 27 November 2016.

Highest scores

Rank	Score	Opposition	Venue	Place	Year	Result
1	682/6d	vs.  England	Lord's Cricket Ground	London, England, United Kingdom	2003	Won
2	658/9d	vs.  West Indies	Sahara Stadium Kingsmead	Durban, South Africa	2003/04	Won
3	651	vs.  Australia	Newlands Cricket Ground	Cape Town, South Africa	2008/09	Won
4	637/2d	vs.  England	The Oval	London, England, United Kingdom	2012	Won
5	627/7d	vs.  England	Newlands Cricket Ground	Cape Town, South Africa	2015/16	Draw
6	622/9d	vs.  Australia	Sahara Stadium Kingsmead	Durban, South Africa	1969/70	Won
7	621/5d	vs.  New Zealand	Eden Park	Auckland, New Zealand	1998/99	Draw
8	620/4d	vs.  India	Centurion Park	Centurion, South Africa	2010/11	Won
9	620/7d	vs.  Pakistan	Newlands Cricket Ground	Cape Town, South Africa	2002/03	Won
10	620	vs.  Australia	Wanderers Stadium	Johannesburg, South Africa	1966/67	Won
Source:[3]. Last updated: 16 January 2016.

Lowest scores

Rank	Score	Opposition	Venue	Place	Year	Result
1	30	v  England	St George's Park	Port Elizabeth, South Africa	1895/96	Lost
	30	v  England	Edgbaston Cricket Ground	Birmingham, England, United Kingdom	1924	Lost
3	35	v  England	Newlands Cricket Ground	Cape Town, South Africa	1898/99	Lost
4	36	v  Australia	Melbourne Cricket Ground	Melbourne, Australia	1931/32	Lost
5	43	v  England	Newlands Cricket Ground	Cape Town, South Africa	1888/89	Lost
6	45	v  Australia	Melbourne Cricket Ground	Melbourne, Australia	1931/32	Lost
7	47	v  England	Newlands Cricket Ground	Cape Town, South Africa	1888/89	Lost
8	58	v  England	Lord's Cricket Ground	London, England, United Kingdom	1912	Lost
9	72	v  England	Newlands Cricket Ground	Cape Town, South Africa	1956/57	Lost
	72	v  England	Wanderers Stadium	Johannesburg, South Africa	1956/57	Lost
Source:[4]. Last updated: 16 January 2016.

Greatest win margins (by innings)

Rank	Margin	Opposition	Venue	Place	Season
1	Innings and 229 runs	vs.  Sri Lanka	Newlands Cricket Ground	Cape Town, South Africa	2000/01
2	Innings and 220 runs	vs.  West Indies	Centurion Park	Centurion, South Africa	2014/15
3	Innings and 219 runs	vs.  Zimbabwe	Harare Sports Club	Harare, Zimbabwe	1999/00
4	Innings and 208 runs	vs.  Sri Lanka	Sinhalese Sports Club	Colombo, Sri Lanka	1993/94
5	Innings and 205 runs	vs.  Bangladesh	Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium	Chittagong, Bangladesh	2007/08
6	Innings and 193 runs	vs.  New Zealand	St George's Park	Port Elizabeth, South Africa	2012/13
7	Innings and 180 runs	vs.  New Zealand	Basin Reserve	Wellington, New Zealand	1952/53
8	Innings and 160 runs	vs.  Bangladesh	Senwes Park	Potchefstroom, South Africa	2002/03
9	Innings and 142 runs	vs.  Pakistan	Newlands Cricket Ground	Cape Town, South Africa	2002/03
10	Innings and 129 runs	vs.  Australia	Kingsmead Cricket Ground	Durban, South Africa	1969/70
Source:[5]. Last updated: 16 January 2016.

Greatest win margins (by runs)

Rank	Margin	Opposition	Venue	Place	Season
1	358 runs	vs.  New Zealand	Wanderers Stadium	Johannesburg, South Africa	2007/08
2	356 runs	vs.  England	Lord's Cricket Ground	Nottingham, England, United Kingdom	1994
3	351 runs	vs.  West Indies	Centurion Park	Centurion, South Africa	1998/99
4	329 runs	vs.  India	Eden Gardens	Kolkata, India	1996/97
5	328 runs	vs.  India	Kingsmead Cricket Ground	Durban, South Africa	1996/97
6	324 runs	vs.  Pakistan	Wanderers Stadium	Johannesburg, South Africa	1994/95
7	323 runs	vs.  Australia	St George's Park	Port Elizabeth, South Africa	1969/70
8	309 runs	vs.  Australia	WACA Ground	Perth, Australia	2012/13
9	307 runs	vs.  Australia	Wanderers Stadium	Johannesburg, South Africa	1969/70
10	282 runs	vs.  India	Newlands Cricket Ground	Cape Town, South Africa	1996/97
Source:.[6] Last updated: 16 January 2016.

Greatest win margins (by 10 wickets)

Rank	Opponent	No. wins	Most recent venue	Most recent place	Season
1	England	3	Headingley Stadium	Leeds, England, United Kingdom	2008
2	Australia	1	Adelaide Oval	Adelaide, Australia	1963/64
	Pakistan	1	Kingsmead Cricket Ground	Durban, South Africa	2002/03
	West Indies	1	Centurion Park	Centurion, South Africa	2003/04
	Sri Lanka	1	Newlands Cricket Ground	Cape Town, South Africa	2011/12
	India	1	Kingsmead Cricket Ground	Durban, South Africa	2013/14
Note: South Africa has won a Test match by 10 wickets on 8 occasions. Source:.[6] Last updated: 16 January 2016.

Individual records

Most Test career appearances

Rank	Appearances	Player	Span
1	165	Jacques Kallis	1995–2013
2	146	Mark Boucher	1997–2012
3	116	Graeme Smith	2002–2014
4	108	Shaun Pollock	1995–2008
5	105	AB de Villiers	2004-present
6	101	Gary Kirsten	1993–2004
	101	Makhaya Ntini	1998–2009
8	91	Hashim Amla	2004–present
9	90	Herschelle Gibbs	1996-2008
10	82	Dale Steyn	2004–present
Source:.[7] Last updated: 16 January 2016.

Most Test career runs

Rank	Runs	Player	Matches	Average	Career Span
1	13,206	Jacques Kallis	165	55.25	1995–2013
2	9,253	Graeme Smith	116	48.70	2002–2014
3	8,074	AB de Villiers	105	51.10	2004-present
4	7,289	Gary Kirsten	117	44.25	1993–2004
5	7,153	Hashim Amla	91	50.73	2004-present
6	6,167	Herschelle Gibbs	90	41.95	1996–2008
7	5,498	Mark Boucher	146	30.54	1997–2012
8	4,554	Daryll Cullinan	70	44.21	1993-2001
9	3,781	Shaun Pollock	108	32.31	1995-2008
10	3,714	Hansie Cronje	68	36.41	1992-2000
Source:.[8] Last updated: 16 January 2016.

Most Test career centuries

Rank	Hundreds	Player	Matches	Runs	Average	Career Span
1	45	Jacques Kallis	165	13,206	55.25	1995–2013
2	27	Graeme Smith	116	9,253	48.70	2002–2014
3	24	Hashim Amla	91	7,153	50.73	2004-present
4	21	AB de Villiers	105	8,074	51.10	2004-present
	21	Gary Kirsten	101	7,289	45.27	1993-2004
6	14	Daryll Cullinan	70	4,554	44.21	1993-2001
	14	Herschelle Gibbs	90	6,167	45.91	1996-2008
8	11	Ashwell Prince	66	3,665	41.64	2002–2011
9	9	Dudley Nourse	34	2,960	53.81	1935–1951
10	8	Bruce Mitchell	42	3,471	48.99	1929-1949
Source:[9]. Last updated: 16 January 2016.

Highest individual scores

No.	Score	Batsmen	Against	Stadium	Place	Year
1	311*	Hashim Amla	vs.  England	The Oval	London, England, United Kingdom	2012
2	278*	AB de Villiers	vs.  Pakistan	Sheikh Zayed Stadium	Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates	2010/11
3	277	Graeme Smith	vs.  England	Edgbaston Cricket Ground	Birmingham, England, United Kingdom	2003
4	275*	Daryll Cullinan	vs.  New Zealand	Eden Park	Auckland, New Zealand	1998/99
5	275	Gary Kirsten	vs.  England	Kingsmead Cricket Ground	Durban, South Africa	1999/00
6	274	Graeme Pollock	vs.  Australia	Kingsmead Cricket Ground	Durban, South Africa	1969/70
7	259	Graeme Smith (2)	vs.  England	Lord's Cricket Ground	London, England, United Kingdom	2003
8	255*	Jackie McGlew	vs.  New Zealand	Basin Reserve	Wellington, New Zealand	1952/53
9	253*	Hashim Amla (2)	vs.  India	Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium	Nagpur, India	2009/10
10	236	Eric Rowan	vs.  England	Headingley Stadium	Leeds, England, United Kingdom	1951
Source:.[10] Last updated: 16 January 2016.

Most career wickets

Rank	Wickets	Player	Matches	Average	Years
1	421 wickets	Shaun Pollock	108	23.11	1995–2008
2	406 wickets	Dale Steyn	82	22.53	2004-present
3	390 wickets	Makhaya Ntini	101	28.82	1998–2009
4	330 wickets	Allan Donald	72	22.25	1992–2002
5	291 wickets	Jacques Kallis	165	32.63	1995–2013
6	237 wickets	Morne Morkel	70	29.48	2006-present
7	170 wickets	Hugh Tayfield	37	25.91	1949–1960
8	134 wickets	Paul Adams	45	32.87	1995-2004
9	126 wickets	Vernon Philander	32	22.08	2011-2015
10	123 wickets	Trevor Goddard	41	26.22	1955–1970
Source:[11]. Last updated: 16 January 2016.

Most five wickets in an innings

Rank	5s	Player	Matches	Wickets	BBI	Average	Years
1	25	Dale Steyn	82	406	7/51	22.53	2004-present
2	20	Allan Donald	72	330	8/71	22.25	1992–2002
3	18	Makhaya Ntini	101	390	7/37	28.82	1998–2009
4	16	Shaun Pollock	108	421	7/87	23.11	1995–2008
5	14	Hugh Tayfield	37	170	9/113	25.91	1949–1960
6	9	Vernon Philander	32	126	6/44	22.08	2011-2015
	9	Peter Pollock	28	116	6/38	24.18	1961–1970
8	6	Morne Morkel	70	237	6/23	29.48	2006-present
9	5	Bert Vogler	15	64	7/94	22.93	1906–1911
	5	Buster Nupen	17	50	6/46	35.76	1921–1936
BBI - Best Bowling in an Innings. Source:.[12] Last updated: 16 January 2016.

Best bowling in an innings

No.	Figures	Bowler	Against	Stadium	Place	Year
1	9/113	Hugh Tayfield	vs.  England	Wanderers Stadium	Johannesburg, South Africa	1956/57
2	8/53	Godfrey Lawrence	vs.  New Zealand	Wanderers Stadium	Johannesburg, South Africa	1961/62
3	8/64	Lance Klusener	vs.  India	Eden Gardens	Kolkata, India	1996/97
4	8/69	Hugh Tayfield (2)	vs.  England	Kingsmead Cricket Ground	Durban, South Africa	1956/57
5	8/70	Tip Snooke	vs.  England	Wanderers Stadium	Johannesburg, South Africa	1905/06
6	8/71	Allan Donald	vs.  Zimbabwe	Harare Sports Club	Harare, Zimbabwe	1995/96
7	7/23	Hugh Tayfield (3)	vs.  Australia	Kingsmead Cricket Ground	Durban, South Africa	1949/50
8	7/29	George Finlay-Bissett	vs.  England	Kingsmead Cricket Ground	Durban, South Africa	1927/28
9	7/29	Kyle Abbott	vs.  Pakistan	Centurion Park	Centurion, South Africa	2012/13
10	7/37	Makhaya Ntini	vs.  West Indies	Queen's Park Oval	Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago	2004
Source:.[13] Last updated: 16 January 2016.

Partnership records

Highest wicket partnerships (by wicket)

No.	Score	Batsmen	Against	Stadium	Place	Year
1	415	Neil McKenzie & Graeme Smith	vs.  Bangladesh	Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium	Chittagong, Bangladesh	2007/08
2	315*	Herschelle Gibbs & Jacques Kallis	vs.  New Zealand	AMI Stadium	Christchurch, New Zealand	1998/99
3	429*	Jacques Rudolph & Boeta Dippenaar	vs.  Bangladesh	Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium	Chittagong, Bangladesh	2002/03
4	308	Hashim Amla & AB de Villiers	vs.  West Indies	Centurion Park	Centurion, South Africa	2014/15
5	338	Graeme Smith & AB de Villiers	vs.  Pakistan	Dubai International Cricket Stadium	Dubai, United Arab Emirates	2013/14
6	271	Ashwell Prince & Mark Boucher	vs.  New Zealand	Centurion Park	Centurion, South Africa	2008/09
7	246	Jackie McGlew & Anton Murray	vs.  New Zealand	Basin Reserve	Wellington, New Zealand	1952/53
8	150	Neil McKenzie & Shaun Pollock	vs.  Sri Lanka	Centurion Park	Centurion, South Africa	2000/01
9	195	Mark Boucher & Pat Symcox	vs.  Pakistan	Kingsmead Cricket Ground	Johannesburg, South Africa	1997/98
10	107*	AB de Villiers & Morne Morkel	vs.  Pakistan	Sheikh Zayed Stadium	Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates	2010/11
Source:.[14] Last updated: 16 January 2016.

Highest wicket partnerships (by runs)

No.	Wicket	Score	Batsmen	Against	Stadium	Place	Year
1	3rd wicket	429*	Jacques Rudolph & Boeta Dippenaar	vs.  Bangladesh	Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium	Chittagong, Bangladesh	2002/03
2	1st wicket	415	Neil McKenzie & Graeme Smith	vs.  Bangladesh	Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium	Chittagong, Bangladesh	2007/08
3	3rd wicket	377*	Hashim Amla & Jacques Kallis	vs.  England	The Oval	London, England, United Kingdom	2012
4	1st wicket	368	Graeme Smith & Herschelle Gibbs	vs.  Pakistan	Newlands Cricket Ground	Cape Town, South Africa	2002/03
5	3rd wicket	341	Eddie Barlow & Graeme Pollock	vs.  Australia	Adelaide Oval	Adelaide, Australia	1963/64
6	3rd wicket	340	Hashim Amla & Jacques Kallis	vs.  India	Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium	Nagpur, India	2009/10
7	1st wicket	338	Graeme Smith & Herschelle Gibbs	vs.  England	Edgbaston Cricket Ground	Birmingham, England, United Kingdom	2003
8	5th wicket	338	Graeme Smith & AB de Villiers	vs.  Pakistan	Dubai International Cricket Stadium	Dubai, United Arab Emirates	2013/14
9	3rd wicket	330	Hashim Amla & Jacques Kallis	vs.  New Zealand	Kingsmead Cricket Ground	Johannesburg, South Africa	2007/08
10	3rd wicket	319	Alan Melville & Dudley Nourse	vs.  England	Trent Bridge Cricket Ground	Nottingham, England, United Kingdom	1947
Source:.[15] Last updated: 16 January.

References

1. "Records | Test matches | Team records | Results summary | ESPN Cricinfo". Stats.cricinfo.com. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
2. "Cricket Records | South Africa | Records | Test matches | Result summary | ESPN Cricinfo". Stats.cricinfo.com. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
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6. "Cricket Records | South Africa | Records | Test matches | Largest victories | ESPN Cricinfo". Stats.cricinfo.com. Retrieved 2015-07-22.
7. "Cricket Records | Records | South Africa | Test matches | Most matches | ESPN Cricinfo". Stats.espncricinfo.com. Retrieved 2015-07-22.
8. "Cricket Records | Records | South Africa | Test matches | Most runs | ESPN Cricinfo". Stats.cricinfo.com. Retrieved 2015-07-22.
9. "Cricket Records | Records | South Africa | Test matches | Most hundreds | ESPN Cricinfo". Stats.espncricinfo.com. Retrieved 2015-07-22.
10. "Cricket Records | Records | South Africa | Test matches | High scores | ESPN Cricinfo". Stats.cricinfo.com. Retrieved 2015-07-22.
11. "Cricket Records | Records | South Africa | Test matches | Most wickets | ESPN Cricinfo". Stats.cricinfo.com. Retrieved 2015-08-27.
12. "Bowling records | Test matches | Cricinfo Statsguru | ESPN Cricinfo". Stats.espncricinfo.com. Retrieved 2015-07-22.
13. "Cricket Records | Records | South Africa | Test matches | Best bowling figures in an innings | ESPN Cricinfo". Stats.espncricinfo.com. Retrieved 2015-07-22.
14. "Cricket Records | Records | South Africa | Test matches | Highest partnerships by wicket | ESPN Cricinfo". Stats.cricinfo.com. Retrieved 2015-07-22.
15. "Cricket Records | Records | South Africa | Test matches | Highest partnerships by runs | ESPN Cricinfo". Stats.cricinfo.com. Retrieved 2015-07-22.