Historic tour of South Africa announced

Australia’s women will cap off their busiest-ever year with an historic tour of South Africa next March and April.

Meg Lanning’s team will embark on their first-ever bilateral tour of the African nation shortly after the conclusion of next year’s ICC T20 World Cup – hosted by Australia – for three ODIs and three T20Is.

The tour will begin with a warm-up match at Durban’s Chatsworth Oval on March 19, before the three-match ODI series commences at the nearby Pietermaritzburg Oval on March 22.

A second game in Pietermaritzburg will follow on March 25 before the series concludes at Buffalo Park Cricket Stadium in East London on March 28.

The ODIs will be played for ICC Women’s Championship points – determining which teams automatically qualify for the next 50-over World Cup in early 2021 – adding extra significance to the series.

Three T20Is will then follow in East London (March 31) and Benoni’s Willowmoore Park (April 3 and 4).

South Africa have never beaten Australia in any format of the game, with the closest they’ve come a tie in the fourth ODI of their 2016 tour Down Under.

But the ever-improving Proteas, who boast Rebel WBBL stars Dane van Niekerk, Marizanne Kapp, Lizelle Lee and Mignon du Preez in their ranks, will be eager to see how they fare against the top-ranked Australians when handed the home-ground advantage.

The only previous time a senior Australian women’s side has toured South Africa was during the 2005 World Cup – a tournament won by Australia – although an under-19s team featuring recent international debutants Georgia Wareham and Tayla Vlaeminck travelled to the country in April last year.

“We’ve seen some thrilling performances recently from our national team and the Australia tour will be another opportunity for them to impress in South African conditions against elite opposition,” Cricket South Africa High Performance Manager Vincent Barnes said.

The African tour will mark the end of a hectic 12-month period for the Australians, which begins next month when they travel to England for an Ashes campaign.

Australia will spend five weeks in the United Kingdom for the multi-format, points-based series featuring three ODIs, one Test and three T20Is.

They’ll be back on home soil for less than a month before departing for September’s bilateral tour of the Caribbean, before turning to Australia to host Sri Lanka in three ODIs and three T20Is between September 29-October 9.

The first standalone edition of the Rebel WBBL will follow from October, while a T20I tri-series featuring India and England will be played from late January ahead of the T20 World Cup, which kicks off in Sydney on February 21 and culminates in the final at the MCG on International Women’s Day, March 8.

CommBank Tour of South Africa 2020

Warm-up Chatsworth Oval, Durban, March 19

First ODI Pietermaritzburg Oval, Pietermaritzburg, March 22

Second ODI Pietermaritzburg Oval, Pietermaritzburg, March 25

Third ODI Buffalo Park Cricket Stadium, East London, March 28

First T20 Buffalo Park Cricket Stadium, East London, March 31

Second T20 Willowmoore Park, Benoni, April 3 

Third T20 Willowmoore Park, Benoni, April 4