South Africa will play a four-day warm-up match from 3 to 6 June at the Arundel Castle Cricket Ground in Sussex, England. This will be a preparatory match for the Proteas ahead of their high-voltage World Test Championship (WTC) Final against defending champions Australia at Lord’s, starting on 11 June.
The Proteas have come close on several occasions but are yet to win a major ICC title in this century. Their only major triumph came in 1998 when they lifted the Champions Trophy (then known as the ICC Knockout Trophy).
Last year, they reached the final and were in a commanding position before faltering during the run-chase. A year later, they find themselves in another final, once again facing strong opposition in the form of Australia.
This warm-up match will be crucial for South Africa as they haven’t played red-ball cricket since winning their home series against Pakistan in January 2025. The fixture against their neighbours provides an ideal opportunity to reacclimatise to the format ahead of the marquee final.
Zimbabwe will be without key players Sikandar Raza, Blessing Muzarabani, and Richard Ngarava, all of whom will be unavailable for the warm-up clash. For South Africa, all players in the squad are fit and available for selection.
South Africa Squad: Tony de Zorzi, Ryan Rickelton, Aiden Markram, Temba Bavuma (c), David Bedingham, Tristan Stubbs, Kyle Verreynne, Wiaan Mulder, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Dane Paterson, Keshav Maharaj, Senuran Muthusamy.
Zimbabwe Squad: Craig Ervine (c), Brian Bennett, Tanaka Chivanga, Ben Curran, Alex Falao, Clive Madande, Wessly Madhevere, Tanunurwa Makoni, Wellington Masakadza, Vincent Masekesa, Newman Nyamhuri, Victor Nyauchi, Tafadzwa Tsiga, Nicholas Welch, Sean Williams.
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