The South Australia men's cricket team is an Australian men's professional first-class cricket team based in Adelaide, 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 Marsh One-Day Cup. The team is selected and supported by the South Australian Cricket Association (SACA). Their Marsh One-Day Cup uniform features a red body with black sleeves. They were known as the West End Redbacks between 1996 and 2024 due to a sponsorship agreement with West End.[4] 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.[5]
 | |||
| Personnel | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Captain |  Nathan McSweeney[1] | ||
| Coach | Ryan Harris (interim) | ||
| Team information | |||
| Colours | Red Gold Blue | ||
| Founded | 1887 | ||
| Home ground | Adelaide Oval Karen Rolton Oval | ||
| Capacity | 53,585[2] 5,000[3] | ||
| History | |||
| First-class debut | Tasmania in 1887 at Adelaide Oval | ||
| Sheffield Shield wins | 13: (1894, 1910, 1913, 1927, 1936, 1939, 1953, 1964, 1969, 1971, 1976, 1982, 1996) | ||
| One Day Cup wins | 3 (1984, 1987, 2012) | ||
| Big Bash wins | 1 (2011) | ||
| Official website | West End Redbacks | ||
| |||
History
The earliest known first-class match played by South Australia took place against Tasmania on the Adelaide Oval in November 1877.[6] 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 13 times in total while they have twice won the One Day tournament now known as the Ryobi One Day Cup. 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 They will continue to hold the KFC Twenty20 Big Bash trophy, as the league is now defunct and has been replaced by the Big Bash League.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.[7]
Honours
Sheffield Shield (13)
One-day Cups (3)
- 1983–84
- 1986–87
- 2011–12
KFC Twenty20 Big Bash/Big Bash League (1)
Squad
Squad for the 2024/25 domestic season.[8] Players with international caps are listed in bold.
| No. | Name | Nat | Birth date | Batting style | Bowling style | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batters | ||||||
| 3 | Kyle Brazell | | 20 September 2001 | Left-handed | Slow left-arm orthodox | Rookie contract |
| 22 | Henry Hunt | | 7 January 1997 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| 23 | Jake Fraser-McGurk | | 11 April 2002 | Right-handed | Right-arm leg spin | |
| 31 | Thomas Kelly | | 14 December 2000 | Right-handed | — | |
| 33 | Jake Lehmann | | 8 July 1992 | Left-handed | Slow left-arm orthodox | |
| 34 | Travis Head | | 29 December 1993 | Left-handed | Right-arm off break | Cricket Australia contract |
| 37 | Conor McInerney | | 30 March 1994 | Left-handed | Slow left-arm orthodox | |
| 38 | Nathan McSweeney | | 8 March 1999 | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | Captain |
| 47 | Daniel Drew | | 22 May 1996 | Right-handed | Right–arm off break | |
| - | Jason Sangha | | 8 September 1999 | Right-handed | Right–arm leg break | |
| - | Mackenzie Harvey | | 18 September 2000 | Left-handed | Right-arm medium-fast | |
| All-rounders | ||||||
| 6 | Liam Scott | | 12 December 2000 | Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | |
| - | Aidan Cahill | | 20 March 2003 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium-fast | Rookie contract |
| Wicket-keepers | ||||||
| 4 | Harry Nielsen | | 3 May 1995 | Left-handed | — | |
| 5 | Alex Carey | | 27 August 1991 | Left-handed | — | Cricket Australia contract |
| - | Harry Matthias | | 25 June 2003 | Right-handed | — | Rookie contract |
| Pace Bowlers | ||||||
| 0 | Nathan McAndrew | | 14 July 1993 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium-fast | |
| 9 | Wes Agar | | 5 February 1997 | Right-handed | Right-arm fast | |
| 13 | Harry Conway | | 17 September 1992 | Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | |
| 21 | Jordan Buckingham | | 17 March 2000 | Left-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | |
| 35 | Brendan Doggett | | 3 April 1994 | Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | |
| 45 | Spencer Johnson | | 16 December 1995 | Left-handed | Left-arm fast | |
| 58 | Henry Thornton | | 13 December 1996 | Right-handed | Right-arm fast | |
| - | Campbell Thompson | | - | - | Left-arm medium-fast | Rookie contract |
| Spin Bowlers | ||||||
| 24 | Lloyd Pope | | 1 December 1999 | Right-handed | Right-arm leg break | |
| 46 | Ben Manenti |  | 23 March 1997 | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | |
Records
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First-class Records
Most first-class runs for South Australia[9]
| Most first-class wickets for South Australia[10]
|
List A Records
Most List A runs for South Australia[11]
| Most List A wickets for South Australia[12]
|
Greatest ever team
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In 2024 SACA members voted for and selected a greatest ever South Australian Men's team consisting of 12 players.[13]
| Men's All Time Best Team |
|---|
| Clem Hill |
| Greg Blewett |
| Sir Donald Bradman |
| Ian Chappell |
| Greg Chappell |
| Darren Lehmann |
| Sir Garfield Sobers |
| Barry Jarman |
| Clarrie Grimmett |
| Jason Gillespie |
| Rodney Hogg |
| Geff Noblet |