Wanderers Stadium pitch report: Test, ODI and T20I records and stats in Johannesburg

Captains who win the toss at the Wanderers in Johannesburg, the ground South Africans call the Bullring, bat. In all 16 men’s Tests played there since May 2006, the captain who won the toss chose to bat. It has paid more often than not: those sides won ten, lost five and drew one.

This page is the full men’s international record at the Wanderers in all three formats: what the pitch history says, the headline Test, ODI and T20I records, and India’s matches at the ground, which include two World Cup finals. Figures are from ESPNcricinfo’s Statsguru and cover the present stadium, which staged its first Test in December 1956, up to South Africa’s ODI win over Australia on 27 September 2026.

Wanderers Stadium at a glance

Location	Illovo, Johannesburg, South Africa
Nickname	The Bullring
First Test	South Africa v England, 24 December 1956
Men’s Tests	44 (latest: South Africa v West Indies, March 2023)
Men’s ODIs	56 played, plus two abandoned (latest: 27 September 2026)
Men’s T20Is	35 played, plus one abandoned (latest: 31 January 2026)
South Africa’s Test record here	Won 20, lost 13, drawn 11

Wanderers pitch report: what the record says

The Wanderers has a name for pace and bounce, and in Tests the side batting first has the better of it. Across all 44, the team batting first has won 21, the team batting second 12, and 11 have been drawn. The average first-innings total is 314.2 all-time and 287.2 across the 13 Tests since 2010, so runs have been a little harder to come by in the modern era, not easier.

The toss pattern is the striking part. The last captain to win the toss and bowl first in a Test here was South Africa’s, against New Zealand in May 2006, and South Africa won. Every toss-winner since has batted. It is not a guarantee, though. England won by seven wickets in 2016 after South Africa batted, and Sri Lanka and India both lost in 2021 and 2022 having chosen to bat.

One-day cricket runs the other way. Every one of the 56 ODIs played here has produced a winner, and the chasing side has won 31 of them. Toss-winners chose to field in 36 of those 56 games. Two of the highest-scoring ODIs ever played happened here, and they sit at the top of the records table below.

T20Is are almost dead level: 18 wins for the side batting first and 17 for the chase, from 35 completed matches. Scores have gone up, with the average completed first innings at 179.2 across all 33 and 204.7 across the six played since 2020.

Wanderers Test records

Record	Figure	Holder	Date
Highest total	652/7 dec	Australia v South Africa	February 2002
Lowest total	49	Pakistan v South Africa	February 2013
Highest individual score	214	Greg Blewett (Aus) v South Africa	February 1997
Best bowling (innings)	9/113	Hugh Tayfield (SA) v England	February 1957
Best bowling (match)	13/192	Hugh Tayfield (SA) v England	February 1957
Most runs	1,148	Jacques Kallis (SA), 18 Tests	1997-2013
Most wickets	53	Makhaya Ntini (10 Tests) and Shaun Pollock (13 Tests)	–
Highest successful chase	310/8	Australia v South Africa	November 2011

Pakistan’s 49 came in February 2013, when Dale Steyn took 6 for 8. It replaced South Africa’s own 72 against England in the ground’s first Test as the lowest total here. Kallis leads the run-scorers by four runs from Hashim Amla, who made his 1,144 in 13 Tests to Kallis’s 18.

The biggest fourth innings at the ground did not win. Chasing 458 against India in December 2013, South Africa reached 450 for 7, with Faf du Plessis making 134 and AB de Villiers 103, and then stopped going for it. The match was drawn eight runs short.

Wanderers ODI records

Record	Figure	Holder	Date
Highest total	439/2	South Africa v West Indies	18 January 2015
Highest successful chase	438/9	South Africa v Australia	12 March 2006
Lowest total	109	Pakistan (1995) and Sri Lanka (2003)	–
Highest individual score	193	Fakhar Zaman (Pak) v South Africa	4 April 2021
Best bowling	5/20	Shaun Pollock (SA) v England	13 February 2000
Most runs	732	AB de Villiers (SA), 11 innings	–
Most wickets	29	Shaun Pollock (SA), 16 matches	–

The two biggest ODI totals at the ground came nine years apart. On 12 March 2006 Australia made 434 for 4 and South Africa chased it with a wicket and a ball to spare, finishing on 438 for 9. Twenty years on it is still the highest successful chase in men’s ODI history. Our feature on the 438 game has the full story.

On 18 January 2015 South Africa beat that total by one run, making 439 for 2 against West Indies. AB de Villiers scored 149 from 44 balls and reached his hundred in 31, which remains the fastest century in men’s ODIs.

The latest ODI here was on 27 September 2026, when David Miller made 142 in South Africa’s 365 for 9 and they beat Australia by 32 runs to take the series. Read our report from that game.

Wanderers T20I records

Record	Figure	Holder	Date
Highest total	283/1	India v South Africa	15 November 2024
Highest successful chase	236/6	West Indies v South Africa	11 January 2015
Lowest total	83	Bangladesh v Sri Lanka	18 September 2007
Highest individual score	120*	Tilak Varma (Ind) v South Africa	15 November 2024
Best bowling	5/17	Kuldeep Yadav (Ind) v South Africa	14 December 2023
Most runs	341	Graeme Smith (SA), 9 innings	–
Most wickets	9	Andile Phehlukwayo (SA), 8 matches	–

India hold three of the records in that table. Their 283 for 1 in November 2024 came from unbeaten hundreds by Tilak Varma (120 from 47 balls) and Sanju Samson (109 from 56), and South Africa were bowled out for 148 in reply.

India at the Wanderers

India’s T20I story starts here. Their first T20 international was played at the Wanderers on 1 December 2006, and they beat South Africa by six wickets. Ten months later they came back for the first World T20 final and beat Pakistan by five runs on 24 September 2007, Gautam Gambhir top-scoring with 75. Since then they have won three more T20Is at the ground, by 28 runs in 2018, 106 runs in 2023 and 135 runs in 2024. India’s run to that 2007 final began in Durban at Kingsmead.

The ODI memories are mixed. India lost the 2003 World Cup final here by 125 runs, after Ricky Ponting made 140 not out in Australia’s 359 for 2.

Format	Played	Won	Lost	Other
Tests	6	2	1	3 draws
ODIs	9	4	5	plus 1 abandoned
T20Is	7	5	2	–

In Tests India have won twice at the Wanderers, in December 2006 and January 2018, and lost once, in January 2022.

Wanderers FAQs

Is the Wanderers a batting or bowling pitch?

It is known for pace and bounce. In Tests the side batting first has won 21 of 44 and every toss-winner since May 2006 has chosen to bat; in ODIs the chasing side has won 31 of 56.

What is the highest ODI score at the Wanderers?

South Africa’s 439 for 2 against West Indies in January 2015, one run more than their record chase of 438 for 9 against Australia in March 2006.

Has India won a World Cup final at the Wanderers?

Yes. India won the first World T20 final there in September 2007, beating Pakistan by five runs. They lost the 2003 ODI World Cup final at the same ground to Australia.

For the rest of the South African circuit, see our Kingsmead pitch report and Newlands Test records.

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