# South Australia cricket team

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 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 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 They will continue to hold the KFC Twenty20 Big Bash trophy, as the league is now defunct and has been replaced by the Big Bash League.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.

## Squad

Squad for the 2024/25 domestic season. Players with international caps are listed in bold.
| No. | Name | Nationality | Birth date | Batting style | Bowling style | Notes |
| Batters |||||||
| 3 | Kyle Brazell | Australia | (2001-09-20) 20 September 2001 (age 23) | Left-handed | Slow left-arm orthodox | Rookie contract |
| 15 | Mackenzie Harvey | Australia | (2000-09-18) 18 September 2000 (age 24) | Left-handed | Right-arm medium-fast | |
| 22 | Henry Hunt | Australia | (1997-01-07) 7 January 1997 (age 28) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| 23 | Jake Fraser-McGurk | Australia | (2002-04-11) 11 April 2002 (age 22) | Right-handed | Right-arm leg spin | |
| 31 | Thomas Kelly | Australia | (2000-12-14) 14 December 2000 (age 24) | Right-handed | — | |
| 33 | Jake Lehmann | Australia | (1992-07-08) 8 July 1992 (age 32) | Left-handed | Slow left-arm orthodox | |
| 34 | Travis Head | Australia | (1993-12-29) 29 December 1993 (age 31) | Left-handed | Right-arm off break | Cricket Australia contract |
| 37 | Conor McInerney | Australia | (1994-03-30) 30 March 1994 (age 30) | Left-handed | Slow left-arm orthodox | |
| 47 | Daniel Drew | Australia | (1996-05-22) 22 May 1996 (age 28) | Right-handed | Right–arm off break | |
| 50 | Jason Sangha | Australia | (1999-09-08) 8 September 1999 (age 25) | Right-handed | Right–arm leg break | |
| All-rounders |||||||
| 6 | Liam Scott | Australia | (2000-12-12) 12 December 2000 (age 24) | Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | |
| 38 | Nathan McSweeney | Australia | (1999-03-08) 8 March 1999 (age 26) | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | Captain |
| - | Aidan Cahill | Australia | (2003-03-20) 20 March 2003 (age 21) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium-fast | Rookie contract |
| Wicket-keepers |||||||
| 4 | Harry Nielsen | Australia | (1995-05-03) 3 May 1995 (age 29) | Left-handed | — | |
| 5 | Alex Carey | Australia | (1991-08-27) 27 August 1991 (age 33) | Left-handed | — | Cricket Australia contract |
| 7 | Harry Matthias | Australia | (2003-06-25) 25 June 2003 (age 21) | Right-handed | — | Rookie contract |
| Pace bowlers |||||||
| 0 | Nathan McAndrew | Australia | (1993-07-14) 14 July 1993 (age 31) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium-fast | |
| 9 | Wes Agar | Australia | (1997-02-05) 5 February 1997 (age 28) | Right-handed | Right-arm fast | |
| 13 | Harry Conway | Australia | (1992-09-17) 17 September 1992 (age 32) | Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | |
| 21 | Jordan Buckingham | Australia | (2000-03-17) 17 March 2000 (age 24) | Left-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | |
| 35 | Brendan Doggett | Australia | (1994-04-03) 3 April 1994 (age 30) | Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | |
| 45 | Spencer Johnson | Australia | (1995-12-16) 16 December 1995 (age 29) | Left-handed | Left-arm fast | |
| 58 | Henry Thornton | Australia | (1996-12-13) 13 December 1996 (age 28) | Right-handed | Right-arm fast | |
| – | Campbell Thompson | Australia | (2004-01-18) 18 January 2004 (age 21) | – | Left-arm medium-fast | Rookie contract |
| Spin bowlers |||||||
| 46 | Ben Manenti | Italy | (1997-03-23) 23 March 1997 (age 27) | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | |
| 24 | Lloyd Pope | Australia | (1999-12-01) 1 December 1999 (age 25) | Right-handed | Right-arm leg break | |

## Honours

* Sheffield Shield
** Winners (13): 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
** 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

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

### List A Records

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

## Greatest ever team

In 2024 SACA members voted for and selected a greatest ever South Australian Men's team consisting of 12 players.
* 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