South Africa will play Zimbabwe in a four-day warm-up game in England beginning June 3 at the Arundel Castle Cricket Ground in Sussex. This will be a practice match for the Proteas, who will face Australia in the World Test Championship (WTC) Final at Lord’s on June 11.
South Africa last played in the red ball format in a home series against Pakistan in January 2025, winning 2-0.
The warm-up between the surrounding countries will allow players to become accustomed to the longer format ahead of the Ultimate Test.
Zimbabwe is coming off a memorable one-off Test against England at Trent Bridge. The match was their first Test on English soil in two decades. Even though England triumphed by an innings and 45 runs, the visitors had a few interesting moments during the game.
The Chevrons will be without Sikandar Raza, Blessing Muzarabani, and Richard Ngarava, but the remainder of the side will field a solid line-up against South Africa. The warm-up match will also serve as a practice for the two-match Test home series against the Proteas in Bulawayo, which is slated for June and July.
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.
India
