Early-season Cape Town Test headlines SA's 2026-27 home season

Eight home Tests this season make up the bulk of their WTC 2025-27 cycle, with South Africa scheduled to tour Sri Lanka in February 2027

Firdose Moonda

Feb 23, 2026, 10:01 AM • 5 hrs ago

South Africa will host Australia, Bangladesh and England in a busy 2026-27 home season, with three Test series and multiple ODI assignments forming a crucial stretch in both the World Test Championship (WTC) and the build-up to the 2027 ODI World Cup.

It is the timing of the Australia series - particularly the Cape Town Test from October 27 to 31 - that stands out. The match will be the earliest men's Test ever hosted at Newlands.

The last time South Africa played a home Test this early in the summer was in 2011, when Australia were famously bowled out for 47 in Cape Town. This time, the Newlands fixture will conclude a three-Test series against Australia, following matches in Durban (October 9-13) and Gqeberha (October 18-22).

ESPNcricinfo understands that Australia were keen to include a Cape Town Test on this tour and pushed for it to be scheduled. The early timing also carries some risk: Cape Town's rainy season has stretched into September in recent years, with winters running later, raising the possibility of disrupted pitch preparation and unsettled weather conditions. There has never been a Test in Cape Town in October.

It will also be Australia's first Test tour of South Africa since 2018, when the series was overshadowed by the ball-tampering scandal in Cape Town. South Africa won that contest 3-1, their first home series victory against Australia since readmission. A scheduled Australian tour during the Covid-19 pandemic was cancelled, meaning Australia have not played a Test in South Africa since that 2018 series.

The tour begins even earlier with a three-match ODI series from September 24 to 30, with matches in Durban, Johannesburg (the annual Pink Day fixture) and Potchefstroom.

Bangladesh follow for an all-format tour in November and December. The two-Test series will be played at the Wanderers (November 15-19) and Centurion (November 23-27). Three ODIs - in East London, Gqeberha and Cape Town - will run from December 1 to 7, followed by T20Is in Kimberley, Benoni and Centurion between December 10 and 13.

England will then tour South Africa for a three-Test series starting December 17 at the Wanderers. The traditional Boxing Day Test returns to Centurion, and the New Year's Test will be staged at Newlands. Both fixtures revert to their customary venues after South Africa did not host Tests this summer.

Eight home Tests this season make up the bulk of their WTC 2025-27 cycle, with South Africa scheduled to tour Sri Lanka in February 2027. South Africa have played four Tests in the current cycle so far and sit third on the points table.

The season concludes with a three-match ODI series against England, beginning in Paarl on January 10 and finishing with two matches in Bloemfontein on January 13 and 15.

That ODI series is scheduled to overlap with the SA20 window, which runs from January 9 to February 14, 2027. It will be the second time an England white-ball tour has clashed with the SA20; during the inaugural edition, the tournament paused for a week to accommodate a bilateral series that proved vital to South Africa's qualification for the 2023 ODI World Cup.

The CSA stated in a press release that the planned T20I series against England has been removed from the calendar "due to scheduling conflicts, with both boards exploring options to reschedule".

"Next season carries significant importance for both our Test and ODI teams," CSA chief executive Pholetsi Moseki said. "We have made a promising start to the new World Test Championship cycle, including a hard-fought 1-1 series draw against Pakistan and an impressive 2-0 victory over India, and it is important that we continue to build on that momentum and strengthen our position on the WTC table.

"On the white-ball front, our focus remains firmly on building towards hosting the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup in 2027. Every ODI series from here forms part of our preparation for that global event, not only as proud hosts, but as a team determined to compete strongly on home soil."

Women's fixtures for the 2026-27 summer will be announced in due course, with South Africa scheduled to play two Tests. In total, ten Tests - eight men's and two women's - are set to be staged in the home summer.

Some matches will be played on drop-in pitches, which CSA have been developing this season - one reason there were no men's home fixtures - with an eye on readiness for the 2027 World Cup.

Firdose Moonda is ESPNcricinfo's correspondent for South Africa and women's cricket

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