Top 10 South African Cricketers With The Longest Captain’s Tenure In ODI Cricket (Men’s And Women’s Cricket)

Recognized for its versatile nature, the South African cricket team has produced some promising cricketers. The last few decades have witnessed the apparent supremacy of South African players in international and domestic cricket. The team has world-class batsmen and bowlers who continue to dominate the game in the present scenario. This article praises the Top 10 South African cricketers with the longest captain's tenure in ODI Cricket (Men's and Women's cricket.)

1. GC Smith

Graeme Craig Smith is a former left-hand batsman. The young batsman became the captain of the team in 2003. In the same year, he played his first match as a captain against Bangladesh. The batsman played 149 matches during his captaincy. He won 92 games and lost 51 of them. The win percentage in the game was 64.23. Smith played his last match as a captain in 2011 and was captain for 8 years.

2. WJ Cronje

Wessel Johannes Cronje is a former right-hand batsman. He was assigned captaincy in 1994 and played his first game against Australia. Cronje played 138 matches during his captaincy and won 99 of them. The winning percentage in the game was 73.70. He lost 35 games and played his last game as a captain in 2000, completing 6 years of captaincy.

  3. AB De Villiers

Abraham Benjamin de Villiers is a former right-hand batsman and became the captain of the team in 2012. He played his first match against Sri Lanka. De Villiers played 103 games as captain and won 59 games and missed 39 of them. The win percentage was 60.10. He played his last game as a captain in 2017.

 4. SM Pollock

Shaun Maclean Pollock is a former right-hand bowler and was given the captaincy in 2000. He played his first match as a captain against Sri Lanka. Pollock played 92 games as captain and won 59 of them with a win percentage of 66.48 and lost  39 of the matches. The batsman played his last game as a captain in 2005 and was captain for 5 years.

5. KC Wessels

Kepler Christoffel Wessels is a former left-hand batsman. He became the captain of the South African cricket team in 1992 and played his first match against Australia. Wessels was the first captain of the modern era of South African cricket. He has played 52 games and has registered a win in 20 of them. The win percentage in the matches was 40.00. He lost 30 games and played his last game as a captain in 1994.

6. D Van Niekerk

Dane van Niekerk is a right-hand batsman and Leg-break bowler. Niekerk was offered captaincy in 2016 and is the present captain of the South African women’s squad. She has played 50 matches as the captain and won 29 of them. The win percentage in the matches was 61.22. She, however missed 18 games.

7. M Du Preez

Mignon du Preez is a right-hand batsman and wicket-keeper of the team. She became the captain of the South African women's cricket team in 2011 and has played 46 matches as a captain. She won 24 of them and missed 19 games. The win percentage was 55.8. She played her last game as captain in 2016, completing 5 years of captaincy.

8. Faf Du Plessis

Francois du Plessis is a former right-hand batsman. He was offered captaincy in 2013 and played his first match against New Zealand. Plessis played 39 games as a captain and won 28 of them. The win percentage was 73.68. He played his last game as a captain in 2019.

9. K Price

Kim Price is a former right-hand batsman. She was offered captaincy in 1997 and was the first captain of the South African women's team. Price played 26 matches and won 13 of them with a win percentage of 52.00. She, however lost 12 of the games and played her last game as a captain in 2000.

10. C Brits

Cri-Zelda Brits is a former right-hand batsman. She was offered captaincy in 2007 and played her first match as captain against Pakistan. Brits played 23 games as captain and won 16 of them with a win percentage of 72.72.  She, however lost 6 of the matches and played her last game as a captain in 2011.