South Africa made their ODI debut in November 1991 after their 22-year ban from the game of cricket. They played their first ODI game against India at the Eden Gardens. Despite playing the first ODI match later then other teams, South Africa have been impressive in this format.
Though they haven’t won any major ODI tournament, but it will not be a wrong statement to say that South Africa has always been one of the strongest ODI team. Famously known as “the Proteas ” South Africa won the 1998 edition of the Champions Trophy, which is the only ICC title they have in their bag. They have played the semi-finals of 1992, 1999, 2003, and 2015 ODI World Cups. They became No.1 ranked ODI team for the very first time in May 1996.
Champions Trophy win: 1998
South Africa’s record in ODI Cricket (Team Records)
- South Africa along with India, are the only two teams to win three ODI matches with a margin of over 250 or more runs.
- South Africa has scored 400 or more six times in total which is the joint-most along with India.
- The Proteas also hold the record of highest ODI run chase and the only chase over 400 runs. South Africa registered a record chase of 438/9 against Australia in March 2006.
- South Africa holds the record of 12 consecutive ODI wins which is the second-best in the history after Australia’s 21. They have done it twice. First they did it between 13 February 2005 to 30 October 2005. Then, they repeated it in 30 September 2016 to 19 February 2017.
- The second longest streak before a loss belongs to South Africa. The Proteas played 20 ODIs between 2 February 2005 to 16 November 2005 and didn’t lose a game. They won 17 games, one tied and two ended without any result. Australia holds the record with 21 games.
- There have been only three instances when three batters from same team scored a century each in an ODI innings. Two of those were recorded by South Africa while one by England. South Africa did it against West Indies and India in January 2012 and October 2015.
- There have been three instances when three 100-plus partnerships were made in an ODI innings. The first one was recorded by South Africa in March 2007 against Netherlands when they made 353/3. The other two are with New Zealand and England.
South Africa’s Record in ODI Cricket (Players Records)
- Herschelle Gibbs was the first and one of two batters who smashed six sixes in an over in ODI game. He smashed Netherlands’ bowler DLS van Bunge for six sixes during the 2007 ODI World Cup. It also the only occasion recorded in World Cup history.
- Quinton de Kock’s career best score of 178 is the second-highest ODI score by a wicket-keeper batter in history after MS Dhoni (183).
- AB de Villiers is the only player in the history with an average of over 50 (53.50) and a strike rate of over 100 (101.09) in ODI cricket.
- AB de Villiers holds the record of fastest century across all three formats. He scored an ODI ton off just 31 balls against West Indies in January 2015.
- The fastest ODI fifty also belongs to AB de Villiers. He completed a 16-ball fifty against West Indies in January 2015, in the same game where he scored the fastest century.
- The record for the best bowling figure on debut belongs to Kagiso Rabada. He took 6/16 in his first ODI against Bangladesh in July 2015.
- The highest partnership for 5th wicket in ODIs was recorded by David Miller and JP Duminy for 256* runs against Zimbabwe in February 2015.
- Justin Kemp and Andrew Hall recorded biggest 8th wicket partnership of 138* runs against India in November 2006.
South Africa’s ODI Records vs Other Teams
South Africa has always been a strong side to beat in all three formats of the game. We are not just saying it, the stats confirm it as well. The Proteas hold the best winning percentage of 61 percent in 50-over cricket, which is the best in the history. There is no team that has won more wins against them then the defeats.
| Opponent | Mts | Won | Lost | Tied | NR | % |
| Afghanistan | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Australia | 103 | 51 | 48 | 3 | 1 | 49.51 |
| Bangladesh | 24 | 18 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 75.00 |
| England | 69 | 32 | 30 | 1 | 5 | 52.34 |
| India | 93 | 50 | 37 | 0 | 3 | 57.47 |
| Ireland | 8 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 85.71 |
| New Zealand | 71 | 41 | 25 | 0 | 5 | 57.75 |
| Pakistan | 82 | 46 | 35 | 0 | 1 | 56.96 |
| Sri Lanka | 80 | 45 | 33 | 1 | 1 | 57.59 |
| West Indies | 64 | 45 | 16 | 1 | 2 | 73.38 |
| Zimbabwe | 41 | 38 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 92.68 |