The New Zealand national cricket team toured South Africa from November 1994 to January 1995 and played a three-match Test series against the South Africa national cricket team. The tour was the third time that New Zealand had visited South Africa and their first tour to the country since the end of the apartheid regime which had led to a sporting boycott of South Africa. South Africa won the Test series 2–1, despite New Zealand having won the first match of the series – the first time that a team had lost a three-match series after having led since 1888 when Australia had lost against England.The New Zealanders in South Africa, 1994–95, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, 1996. Retrieved 18 June 2018.Stanley B (2017) Inglorious Days: The story of the 1994 tour to South Africa, Newsroom, 6 April 2017. Retrieved 21 August 2018.Alfred L (2017) Charger, Ken, and a right royal battle down south, ESPN cricket, 1 March 2017. Retrieved 18 June 2018. New Zealand also competed in the Mandela Trophy with South Africa, Sri Lanka and Pakistan but were eliminated in the group stage, not winning any of their matches.Cricket: Tours of the unexpected, New Zealand Herald, 6 April 2006. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
The tour saw the New Zealand team in "disarray" and criticised for their lack of discipline on the field. Four players were later suspended as a result of their off-field behaviour during the tour, three for smoking cannabis,Boock R (2004) Cricket: Fleming caught out for a smoke, New Zealand Herald, 6 November 2004. Retrieved 21 August 2018.Williamson M, Miller A (2006) Dabbling with drugs, CricInfo, 1 November 2006. Retrieved 21 August 2018. and the New Zealand captain, Ken Rutherford, was twice sanctioned by the ICC match referee Peter Burge. Rutherford was sacked later in the season following a domestic season which "degenerated into a series of traumas" and the tour manager, Mike Sandlant, and coach Geoff Howarth both left their posts as a result of their handling of the team during the tour. A report by Director of New Zealand Cricket, Roddy Fulton, condemned Ken Rutherford's poor captaincy and lack of team management skills. The report was leaked by an unknown source to New Zealand media which subsequently revealed a number of management failings by Fulton's former teammate Geoff Howarth and the team's senior players. The tour has been called the "Sex, Drugs and Rock 'n Roll" tour and is considered to have had a major influence on the ways in which New Zealand Cricket administered the international team for years ahead.
The tour immediately followed New Zealand's involvement in the Wills World Series in India in October 1994, the majority of the team travelling directly from India to South Africa.New Zealand to South Africa 1994–95, Test Cricket Tours (archived June 2020). Retrieved 21 August 2018. New Zealand had not won any of their four matches during the Wills series.Wills World Series 1994–95, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, 1996. Retrieved .
The organisation of the Test series by the United Cricket Board of South Africa was praised by Wisden. Over 150,000 spectators watched the three matches, the Board putting in place a system of reducing ticket prices throughout each day in order to attract more spectators. The policy was successful and the number of younger people who attended matches was picked out by the Almanack as a particular success. Developments to the TV umpire system, which had been introduced during Australia's tour the previous summer,Bannister J (1995) The Australians in South Africa, 1993–94, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, 1995. Retrieved 12 April 2018. and both countries agreeing to a minimum of 90 overs per day were also credited by Wisden.
Tour party The New Zealand team was captained by Ken Rutherford in his last tour as captain. Martin Crowe, who became New Zealand's record run scorer in Test matches during the tour, was the vice-captain. Mark Priest was included in the tour party during the Mandela Trophy matches after having flown in as a replacement for the injured Matthew Hart who had broken a finger.South Africa v New Zealand, Mandela Trophy 1994–95, third match, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, 1996. Retrieved 13 December 2019. Danny Morrison, who was originally not available for selection due to injury, joined the tour in its later stages as a replacement for Dion Nash who had suffered a team injury. Morrison played in the final three matches, including the second and third Tests.
With the addition of Crowe, who was already in South Africa rehabilitating from a knee injury, Lee Germon and Murphy Su'a, the Test team was the same team which had played in the Wills World Series immediately before the tour. The party included two uncapped players: Darrin Murray made his Test debut in the first Test of the series, having played in one of the ODIs in India, while Lee Germon made his ODI debut during the Mandela Trophy matches. Influential all-rounder Chris Cairns, who went on to play over 250 international matches, missed the tour with an injury.McConnell L (2000) Cairns return leaves big gap in career CV, CricInfo, 2 November 2000. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
The tour party was considered to be fairly weak due injuries and a lack of depth in talent in New Zealand cricket at the time. Speaking in 2017, Rutherford was of the opinion that "there was [no one] we left back home who deserved to play."
The South African team was captained by Hansie Cronje in his first series as captain, having replaced Kepler Wessels following the team's failure to win a match in the 1994–95 Wills Triangular Series in Pakistan. Wessels resigned the captaincy in November before the first Test match to focus on his own batting performances but a "recurring" knee injury led to his retirement from international cricket in December without him playing a match during the tour.
Test series The first Test match in the series was played in late November after a series of warm-up matches. The second and third Tests were played between 26 December and 6 January after the Mandela Trophy ODI series. South Africa were without their leading fast bowler Allan Donald throughout the series due to injury. Donald had played in every Test match since the reintegration of South Africa into international cricket in 1992. This and the absence of former captain Kepler Wessels, also through injury, left wicket-keeper Dave Richardson as the only player to have played in each Test since reintegration.
Richardson, who was the leading run scorer of the series, was named the player of the series.
First Test The first Test was played at Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg. New Zealander Darrin Murray made his Test debut in the match.
New Zealand won the toss and chose to bat first on a cracked pitch which looked as if it may cause problems for batsmen – Wisden wrote that "Both teams distrusted the pitch" although it "played well enough until the fourth day".First Test, South Africa v New Zealand, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, 1996. Retrieved 1 October 2018. New Zealand scored 411 in their first innings after a good first day and then an innings of 84 by Shane Thomson lower down the order and a tenth wicket partnership of 57 runs.
In reply South Africa scored 279 with Dave Richardson, who batted with a broken thumb, top scoring with 83. Martin Crowe set a new New Zealand record for the number of Test match catches during the innings, catching Richard Snell to pass Jeremy Coney's 64 catches. Fannie De Villiers bowled "brilliantly" to reduce New Zealand to 34/5 in their second innings before lower order runs once again helped to raise their score to 194, a lead of over 300. The wearing pitch with wide cracks helped create the conditions for a South African batting collapse on the last day of the match, the home team losing seven wickets for 39 runs on the final morning to be all out for 189, losing by 137 runs. Simon Doull, who was the man of the match, took four wickets in South Africa's second innings whilst Matthew Hart took 5/77 bowling into the rough outside off stump, setting new Test match best figures.
The New Zealand victory "stunned" South Africa, although an injury to bowler Dion Nash ruled him out of the rest of the tour.
Second Test The second Test began on Boxing Day at Kingsmead in Durban. It followed the Mandela Series of ODI matches which had taken place at the beginning of December. South Africa gave debuts to Jack Commins and Steven Jack.Second Test, South Africa v New Zealand, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, 1996. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
New Zealand again won the toss but lost quick wickets in their first innings due, Wisden said, to "injudicious shots". After losing five wickets for 66 runs, a recovery led by Shane Thomson, who top-scored with a score of 82, meant that the tourists scored a total of 185. In reply South Africa started strongly but then collapsed themselves, going from 110/2 to 182/9 before a last wicket stand of 44 left them with a narrow lead having scored 226.
After losing two early wickets, New Zealand opener Bryan Young scored the third slowest half-century in Test history, taking 333 minutes to reach 50 runs. Once he was out the batting collapsed again, the last six wickets falling for 48 runs, leaving South Africa a modest target of 152. They reached this with the loss of two wickets and Wisden was of the opinion that, following the loss of all of their matches in the One Day series and the disciplining of players before Christmas, New Zealand's "decline now looked terminal".
During New Zealand's second innings Martin Crowe set another New Zealand test record, becoming the country's leading Test match run scorer after he passed John Wright's record of 5,334 runs.
Third Test The final Test of the series took place after the New Year at Newlands in Cape Town on a relaid pitch which was "unusually pacy" for the ground.Third Test, South Africa v New Zealand, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, 1996. Retrieved 1 October 2018. A combination of poor New Zealand batting and good bowling by South Africa led to South Africa winning the match by seven wickets to seal a series win, the first time that a team had come back from 1–0 down in a three match series to win the series since 1888.
New Zealand again won the toss and chose to bat and were reduced to 96/5 before recovering to make a total of 288. In reply South Africa made 440, including centuries for captain Hansie Cronje and a first Test century for wicket-keeper Dave Richardson, whilst Test debutant opener Rudi Steyn made 38 runs. The slow pace of scoring meant that only five sessions remained in the match. New Zealand, Wisden suggested, needed to bat for four of them to save the match and draw the series but poor batting, in particular falling into a trap set by Cronje of hooking or pulling in the air, saw them dismissed for 239, leaving South Africa 42 overs to score the 88 runs required for victory. They did so with 11 to spare and Wisden lamented the general approach of the New Zealand team which it considered "careless" with few of the team "still competing".
One Day International matches
New Zealand played six One Day Internationals in the Mandela Trophy, playing twice against each of South Africa, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. New Zealand did not win a match during the series, losing all but their second match which was abandoned after a torrential thunderstorm flooded the ground after Sri Lanka had scored 288/4.New Zealand v Sri Lanka, Mandela Trophy 1994–95, fourth match, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, 1996. Retrieved 20 August 2018. The matches took place after the first Test match.