1994 [Scorecards]
South Africa were invited to play a 3 Test series in England in 1994, and led by Kepler Wessells had a fine tour, with the Test series well contested. The run up to the Tests was not without controversy the tourists lost to Kent, and by opting for practice rather than results, did nothing to endear themselves to county audiences, particularly in Gloucestershire, where captain Jack Russell batted 29 overs for 6 runs in protest against the unwillingness of the South Africans to "make a game of it". They entered the first Test without a win against a county to their credit, but that was soon forgotten. The first Test between the countries for 29 years was held at Lord's and the South Africans celebrated their return with an emphatic victory. South Africa won the toss, and led by an efficient century by their captain, well supported by Peter Kirsten and the tail, amassed 357. England, in contrast, struggled against South Africa's all-seam attack, and only a late flurry from DeFreitas saved the follow on, Donald taking 5/74. As South Africa went about building a huge lead. controversy erupted when England's captain Atherton was caught by the television cameras apparently applying a substance to the ball. He initially stated to the match referee that he had nothing in his pockets, but later admitted he kept some dirt there to dry his hands. Amid cries from the press for his resignation, he was fined 2000 pounds by the England management, but as Wisden stated "if Atherton were a cheat, he was not a very successful one". South Africa declared setting England 456, and they collapsed in abject fashion. The South African pacers shared the wickets as England made only 99, and South Africa had a historic victory. In the 2nd Test Atherton responded to the gale of criticism that had surrounded him since Lord's with a superb 99. With solid support from Thorpe, Stewart and Rhodes, England declared on 477/9, and then with South Africa on 31/3 looked to be headed for a big win. The South Africans rallied, however, with Kirsten's century (his first in Tests at the age of 39) supported by stubborn resistance down the order, and they trailed by only 30 on first innings. England went after quick runs in the second innings, Hick contributing an aggressive hundred, and Thorpe with another useful innings. Atherton declared leaving South Africa 297 from 60 overs, but thanks to Kirsten they batted out the day with little trouble. The final Test will long be remembered for a stunning performance by Devon Malcolm, but was a very entertaining match throughout. The Oval pitch was good, but had plenty of pace, and South Africa made a poor start falling to 136/6, with Rhodes retiring hurt after ducking into a Malcolm bouncer. McMillan (93) and Richardson put on 124, and South Africa made 332, Benjamin taking four wickets. England got off to a bad start, Atherton falling first ball, and later fined for the obvious dissatisfaction he showed at his lbw decision. Thorpe and Stewart batted well, and Gough and Defreitas ensured the tail wagged. What turned out to be the defining moment of the match took place however, when Malcolm, an inept bat at best was hit on the helmet by a bouncer from de Villiers. Turning to the surrounding fielders he announced "you guys are history", and shortly after they were. Bowling with immense hostility, and considerable pace he took 9 South African wickets for 57 runs, only Cullinan escaping him, caught off Gough for 94. England needed 204 to win, and made them in style, Gooch, Hick and Atherton making 107 off 16 overs before close on the 3rd day. Hick was unbeaten on 81 at the end as England won by 8 wickets on the fourth morning.

By now the Texaco Trophy- a one day series between the tourists and the home team had become a standard feature of the English season. Two matches were played in 1994, both won comfortably by England. An efficient performance in the field by England restricted South Africa to 215 in the first match, and they passed the total with ease, pacing their innings well. Hick made 81, and Atherton 49 before being brilliantly run-out by Jonty Rhodes, whose wonderful fielding had evoked comparisons with Colin Bland throughout the tour. The second match was contested over two days due to rain. DeFreitas bowled 11 overs for 12 runs, and south Africa never were comfortable against the England attack, making only 181 for 9. England lost early wickets, but the break for rain allowed them to regroup, and Thorpe and Stephen Rhodes took them to victory with 7 overs to spare.

1995-96 [Scorecards]
Mike Atherton led the England tourists to South Africa, 30 years after the last official tour. It was a well contested series, with only one of the five Tests yielding a result, but with much good cricket in the drawn games. The first Test was badly affected by the weather, with no play possible after tea on the 2nd day. England by that time had accumulated 381/9, with Atherton (78) and Hick (a superb 141) leading a recovery after early wickets had fallen. The second Test was a classic encounter. Atherton put South Africa in, and thanks to Gary Kirsten's maiden Test century they made 332. Cork worked hard for his 5 wickets, and Malcolm bowled well for his four Russell taking 6 catches behind the stumps. England batted poorly, with only a half century from Robin Smith, playing against the country of his birth, allowing them to reach 200. Russell took another five catches when South Africa batted again, his total of eleven being a record in Tests, but a century from McMillan, supported by Cullinan and Rhodes allowed Cronje to declare 478 ahead, with 5 sessions remaining, and the wicket taking spin. At the end of the fourth day the match looked over with England at 167/4, and only Atherton resisting the South African attack. The 5th day, however was a triumph for England, and Atherton in particular. Robin Smith stayed with Atherton until 45 minutes bfore lunch, bringing in Jack Russell. Russell and Atherton then batted out the day, putting on 199 runs, but more importantly saving the match. Atherton batted for nearly 11 hours for his 185*, and Russell made 29* in four and a half hours.

The third Test was badly rain affected, with no play on the final two days, and interruptions on the other three. England made substantial changes, and the new look bowling attack did well, Illott, Martin and Illingworth sharing the wickets as South Africa were dismissed for 225. England reached 152/5 before the rain finally intervened. Unenterprising batting condemned the fourth Test to a draw as well. South Africa made just 230/4 on the first day, and crawled to 428 all out towards the end of the 2nd. Cullinan was an exception as he top-scored with a classy 91, and Richardson contributed 84. England with little more than a draw to play for also opted for caution, and batted well into the 4th day for their 263. Atherton laboured for 5 hours for 72, although Hick was more enterprising. Paul Adams, the young spinner, made a good impression on his debut. When South Africa batted again, Martin bowled his first 7 overs for no runs and 2 wickets, Cork bowled with spirit, and South Africa's declaration came with 9 wickets down. England were set 328 in just over a day, and never made a serious attempt at reaching the target, losing only 3 wickets in batting out the day.

After the four draws, the decisive win by South Africa in the final Test was surprising, but well deserved. England won the toss, but were skittled for only 153 by the pace of Donald (5/46). Only Robin Smith gave the innings any backbone, and despite Cork making an early breakthrough, steady batting by Cullinan and Richards gave south Africa a good first innings lead. South African pace struck again in the second innings, this time Shaun Pollock being the main destroyer with 5/32. Thorpe (top-scorer with 59) was given out in controversial circumstances after being given not out on a close run-out, Cronje remonstrated with umpire Orchard who then referred the decision to the 3rd umpire, who gave him out. South Africa needed just 67, which they made without losing a wicket.

A protracted 7 match one day series followed, in the run-up to the 1996 World Cup. England brought in a number of one day specialists, but this did them little good, in a series of morale destroying defeats. The first match was close, as England had South Africa reeling at 107/6, and then 152/7, but Pollock (66) and Mathews took them to 211. Englan's innings went in the other direction, with the upper order giving them an excellent start, Donald with incisive wickets in the middle overs, and wickets tumbling at the close. Thorpe made 62, but fell with 13 needed off 13 balls, but Pollock ripped through the tail, leaving England 5 runs short. England's solitary win came in the second match. South Africa put up a good total of 262 when they batted, thanks to a good opening partnership between Hudson and Snell, but Atherton (85), well supported by Hick and Thorpe, led England to an easy win with 5 wickets and 8 balls to spare. England batted poorly in the 3rd match, and only 57* from Fairbrother, well supported by the lower order enabled them to reach 198. South Africa lost early wickets, but a sensible innings from Rhodes saw them pass England's total with 7 wickets down. Stewart took over the captaincy for the fourth match, and England did much better with the bat, making 272, founded on an opening stand of 103. South Africa had few problems against the England bowling, Hudson (72) and Kirsten (116) putting on 156 for the first wicket, and won by 7 wickets. South African bowling dominated the 5th match, England only mustering 184 (thanks to 63 from Thorpe). Good innings from Cronje and Kallis took them to a 5 wicket win. England looked to have turned the tables in the 6th match, when a fine all round performance in the field saw South Africa dismissed for 129. De Villiers took 2/10 from his 8 overs, Adams 3/26, and only Hick passed 20 as England lost by 14 runs. A dismal series for England concluded with another loss, this time by 64 runs. Cronje and Kuiper anchored a South African total of 218, but the England batting did little against de Villiers (4/32). As the suprisingly one-sides series concluded, the Electronic Telegraph correspondent noted "South Africa`s play was intelligent and uncompromising, while England gave a performance of numbing indifference."

1998 [Scorecards]
Cronje's tourists faced a busy schedule, awarded 5 Tests after the successful 1994 tour, as well as three Texaco Trophy one day matches, and a 3 way tournament involving the Sri Lankans. England, captained by Adam Hollioake, lost the first match, following an efficient performance by the South Africans throughout. Knight top scored in England's 223, but South Africa passed their total with ease, Kallis and Cronje leading the way. South Africa batted first in the second match, and seemed to be in some trouble before Klusener hit a rapid half-century to take them to 226. Gough bowled well, taking 4/35. England started well, but a middle order collapse and Stewart's controversial run out (Boucher broke the stumps will the ball lodged between his arm and body rather than in the gloves) left Hollioake and the tail too much to do. With the series lost, England came back well in the final encounter, winning by 7 wickets at Headingley. Angus Fraser, brought back into the side made the most of the conditions and bowled his 10 overs for only 23 runs, and only an excellent 60 from Shaun Pollock took South Africa past 200. Knight and Brown (50 in 31 balls) put on 114 for the first wicket in just 16 overs, and England won with 7 wickets and 15 overs in hand.

A week later the Test series started, the England captaincy awarded to Stewart. Cronje was made to regret his decision to put in England after winning the toss after Butcher (77) and Atherton (103) laid the foundations of a big total with an opening stand of 179. Ramprakash and Stewart both fell a run short of half centuries, and England totalled 462 after two days of play. Gough had his finger broken by a fast delivery from Donald, and was unable to bowl in remainder of the match. Two wickets fell quickly but then Kallis and Cullinan stabilised the South African innings, and helped by 95 from Rhodes, they totalled 343, Cork taking 5 wickets. England went after quick runs on the fourth day, and reached 170 for 8 at the close. Stewart had planned to declare overnight, but heavy rain washed out the final day. The Lord's Test was a triumph for South Africa. Put in to bat after half of the first day was lost to rain, Cork's lively pace had them at 46/4, but Cronje (81) and Rhodes (117) put on 184 for the 5th wicket, and they were all out for 360. England had no answer to Donald in peak form, as they were skittled for 110, no batsman passing 15. Donald took 5/32 and he was well supported by Pollock. England followed on, and offered more resistance. Hussain made a fine century, and Stewart and Atherton helped him take the total to 222/3. Stewart's dismissal triggered a collapse, and the last 7 wickets fell for 42 runs as Kallis took 4/24. South Africa needed only 15, which they knocked off without loss. The third Test was drawn, but had an enthralling final day. South Africa batted first and built an unassailable total, thanks to a patient 210 by Kirsten (at 9 hrs 35 mins the longest innings by a South African). Kallis also made a century, and Cronje declared on 552/5 on the third day. A South African victory looked certain as England stumbled to 183, Adams taking four wickets, and then lost their first two wickets for 11 runs on following on. Stewart (164) and Atherton (89), however batted superbly, and the score reached 237 before the next wicket fell on the 5th morning. Ramprakash batted patiently, but after Stewart fell to Donald, the seemingly inevitable collapse followed, three wickets falling for the addition of 3 runs. Croft and Ramprakash stayed together for another 20 overs, but England soon were at 329/8. Still 40 behind with well over an hour left. Croft and Gough however offered stern resistance and stayed together into the final hour. When Gough departed (76 balls for his 12), Angus Fraser had to survive a nail biting final over, before the draw was ensured as England drew level. Donald bowled a heroic 40 overs for 6 wickets, and Croft faced 125 balls for his 3 hour 37*.

Stewart put South Africa in to bat in the 4th Test, a decision that, after an intial breakthrough from Gough, seemed unwise. Cronje's century lead South Africa to a first innings total of 374, despite 5 wickets from Fraser. The England batsmen responded well however, with Butcher and Atherton contributing a good opening stand, and Ramprakash stranded on 67* by a tail-end collapse. They trailed on first innings however, Donald leading the bowlers with 5/109. A fine performance by England in the field restricted South Africa to 208 in their second innings, Fraser completing 10 wickets in the match, well supported by Cork (4/60). England were set 247 to win, not an easy task, but Atherton (98*), with useful contributions from Hussain and Stewart, took England to an 8 wicket victory. On the fourth evening there was a gripping duel between Donald and Atherton after Donald thought that he had Atherton caught behind off his glove. In what was probably the turning point of the match Atherton bravely withstood a hostile barrage from the incensed Donald. In a remarkable turn-around England completed a series victory in the 5th Test. Butcher's 116 was the foundation of a modest 1st innings for England, Ntini taking four wickets. South Africa led by 22 on first innings, thanks to a solid performance by their middle order. Fraser took five wickets again, forming an effective partnership with Gough. Pollock and Donald shared the wickets when England batted again, a resolute innings of 94 from Hussain proving crucial as the last 7 wickets fell for 40 runs. South Africa needed just 219, but their hopes were destroyed in a great opening spell by Gough and Fraser, reducing them to 27/5. Rhodes and McMillan, assited by Pollock rebuilt the innings, and they were only 23 runs short when Gough took the final wicket, his 6th.

1999-2000
Since the 1998 series the two sides have seen dramatic changes of fortune. South Africa have established themselves as one of the strongest sides in international cricket, only narrowly missing out on the World Cup final, and with an outstanding Test record. England have slumped badly, losing the Ashes series in Australia, failing to qualify for the final six of the World Cup at home, and then losing a home Test series to New Zealand. The selectors have experimented with the tour party, led by Hussain, but featuring some new faces, and with an emphasis on youth. They will face an experienced South African squad, and will face an uphill struggle.