The South Australia men's cricket team is an Australian men's professional first-class cricket team based in the state of South Australia. South Australia play their home matches at Adelaide Oval and Karen Rolton Oval, they are the state cricket team for South Australia representing the state in the Sheffield Shield competition and the limited overs One-Day Cup. The team is selected and supported by the South Australian Cricket Association (SACA).

The team's One-Day Cup uniform features a red body with gold and blue elements, the state's colours. They were known as the Southern Redbacks from 1995 to 2024, and officially competed under the West End Redbacks moniker from 1996 to 2024 due to a sponsorship agreement with West End. The Redbacks formerly competed in the now-defunct KFC Twenty20 Big Bash, but were succeeded by the Adelaide Strikers in 2011 because this league was replaced with the Big Bash League.

History

The earliest known first-class match played by South Australia took place against Tasmania on the Adelaide Oval in November 1877. In 1892–93, they joined New South Wales and Victoria and played the inaugural Sheffield Shield season. South Australia won the Shield in just their second attempt. They have won the competition 15 times in total while they have won the One Day tournament four times. They are also the current holders of the KFC 20/20 Big Bash trophy, defeating NSW in the 2010/11 final at Adelaide Oval. They will continue to hold the KFC Twenty20 Big Bash trophy, as the league is now defunct and has been replaced by the Big Bash League.

Over the years, many successful international cricketers have played for South Australia. Clarrie Grimmett played with them during the 1920s and '30s, taking a total of 668 wickets. This remains a state record. In 1934, Sir Donald Bradman moved to South Australia and joined the team after originally playing with New South Wales, and he started with scores of 117, 233 and 357 in his first three innings. Others include the Chappell brothers (Ian and Greg), David Hookes, Darren Lehmann, Gil Langley, Jason Gillespie, and Terry Jenner.

South Australia has also imported cricketers to play for them, with the most famous being Sir Gary Sobers, who appeared in three seasons during the early 1960s, and Barry Richards. Richards played just one season with South Australia but managed to set a state record for most runs in a season, making 1101 runs in the 1970–71 season.

Squad

Squad for the 2024/25 domestic season. Players with international caps are listed in bold.

No.NameNationalityBirth dateBatting styleBowling styleNotes Batters3 Kyle Brazell Left-handed Slow left-arm orthodox Rookie contract15 Mackenzie Harvey Left-handed Right-arm medium-fast22 Henry Hunt Right-handed Right-arm medium 23 Jake Fraser-McGurk Right-handed Right-arm leg spin31 Thomas Kelly Right-handed 33 Jake Lehmann Left-handed Slow left-arm orthodox 34 Travis Head Left-handed Right-arm off break Cricket Australia contract37 Conor McInerney Left-handed Slow left-arm orthodox47 Daniel Drew Right-handed Right–arm off break50 Jason Sangha Right-handed Right–arm leg break All-rounders6 Liam Scott Right-handed Right-arm fast-medium38 Nathan McSweeney Right-handed Right-arm off break Captain - Aidan Cahill Right-handed Right-arm medium-fast Rookie contract Wicket-keepers4 Harry Nielsen Left-handed 5 Alex Carey Left-handed Cricket Australia contract7 Harry Matthias Right-handed Rookie contract Pace bowlers0 Nathan McAndrew Right-handed Right-arm medium-fast 9 Wes Agar Right-handed Right-arm fast 13 Harry Conway Right-handed Right-arm fast-medium 21 Jordan Buckingham Left-handed Right-arm fast-medium 35 Brendan Doggett Right-handed Right-arm fast-medium 45 Spencer Johnson Left-handed Left-arm fast 58 Henry Thornton Right-handed Right-arm fast 10 Campbell Thompson – Left-arm medium-fast Rookie contract Spin bowlers46 Ben Manenti Right-handed Right-arm off break24 Lloyd Pope Right-handed Right-arm leg break

Honours

Sheffield Shield Winners (15): 1893–94, 1909–10, 1912–13, 1926–27, 1935–36, 1938–39, 1952–53, 1963–64, 1968–69, 1970–71, 1975–76, 1981–82, 1995–96, 2024–25, 2025–26 Runners-up (22): 1894–95, 1896–97, 1897–98, 1906–07, 1907–08, 1908–09, 1910–11, 1913–14, 1927–28, 1931–32, 1936–37, 1937–38, 1939–40, 1962–63, 1966–67, 1971–72, 1972–73, 1979–80, 1988–89, 1994–95, 2015–16, 2016–17 One-Day Cup Winners (4): 1983–84, 1986–87, 2011–12, 2024–25 Runners-up (8): 1984–85, 1987–88, 1989–90, 1994–95, 2005–06, 2015–16, 2017–18, 2022–23 Twenty20 Big Bash Winners (1): 2010–11 Runners-up (1): 2009–10

Records

First-class Records Most first-class runs for South Australia PlayerRunsAverageInningsDarren Lehmann 11,945 57.15 224Greg Blewett 10,003 46.09 230David Hookes 9,785 47.27 216Les Favell 8,610 38.09 230Callum Ferguson 8,371 38.05 239Ian Chappell 7,887 52.58 164Neil Dansie 7,079 35.04 210Peter Sleep 6,656 36.37 226Clem Hill 6,631 52.21 133Andrew Hilditch 6,547 41.96 167Most first-class wickets for South Australia PlayerWicketsAverageInningsClarrie Grimmett 546 25.89 158Ashley Mallett 353 24.11 145Chadd Sayers 279 25.86 129Tim May 277 37.31 138Peter Sleep 273 38.99 218Joe Mennie 256 27.11 129George Giffen 240 26.91 70Peter McIntyre 237 40.03 115Geff Noblet 225 17.99 81Terry Jenner 213 30.98 120

List A Records Most List A runs for South Australia PlayerRunsAverageInningsDarren Lehmann 4,088 55.24 89Callum Ferguson 4,085 40.44 111Greg Blewett 3,645 40.50 100Tom Cooper 3,023 39.77 85Michael Klinger 2,524 52.58 51Mark Cosgrove 1,978 32.42 64Graham Manou 1,554 22.20 94Alex Carey* 1,494 36.43 43Travis Head* 1,406 41.35 35Jake Weatherald 1,383 36.39 39Most List A wickets for South Australia PlayerWicketsAverageInningsShaun Tait 103 22.92 53Kane Richardson 84 30.64 52Paul Wilson 75 23.42 48Jason Gillespie 70 29.87 54Mark Cleary 67 30.92 49Greg Blewett 63 33.07 68Mark Harrity 58 27.29 41Gary Putland 54 29.38 34Dan Christian 54 33.33 42Jake Haberfield 52 21.38 29

'All Time Best Team'

In 2024 SACA members voted for and selected a greatest ever South Australian Men's team consisting of 12 players - called the 'All Time Best Team'. Men's All Time Best TeamClem HillGreg BlewettSir Donald BradmanIan ChappellGreg ChappellDarren LehmannSir Garfield SobersBarry JarmanClarrie GrimmettJason GillespieRodney HoggGeff Noblet

See also List of South Australian representative cricketers

References

External links West End Redbacks A brief history of South Australia