OPINION: Proteas desperately need more Test cricket, not less

The Proteas have been extremely hard done by with the lack of Test cricket over the current Test Championship cycle, and many of their players, as well as head coach Shukri Conrad, have voiced their dissatisfaction with it.

Things have improved slightly this year, with the Proteas preparing to host Sri Lanka in a two-Test series starting next week Wednesday and by the end of it they will have played nine Tests this year, which will become 10 when they face Pakistan in the Boxing Day Test.

Last year the Proteas played just four Tests over the entire year, which is ridiculous considering they are a top Test playing nation.

Even the 10 Tests they will have played this year will have come over five different series, showing just how limited the opportunities are for the Proteas when it comes to the longest form of the game.

They started the year with the New Years Test against India which was the second of that series, while they have had two-Test series’ against the West Indies in the Caribbean and Bangladesh in the subcontinent.

Home Test series

They now have their home two-Test series against Sri Lanka, followed by another home two-Test series against Pakistan, with the second Test to be played in January next year.

The last time the Proteas played in a three-Test series was on their tour of Australia at the end of 2022 and start of 2023, while you would have to go back to the 2019-20 home Test series against England to see when they last played in a four-Test series.

Incredibly, the last time that the Proteas featured in a five-Test series was in 2004-05 when they hosted England, and in total this century so far they have only played in four five-Test series, three against England and one against the West Indies.

This is in massive contrast to the ‘big three’ cricket nations of India, Australia and England, who regularly play five-Test series against each other every couple of years.

The Proteas have a shot of making next year’s Test Championship final at Lord’s, and wouldn’t it be wonderful to stick it to the big three by making it there, despite being forced to play in a constant stream of two-Test series’.