Zimbabwe vs South Africa 1st Test Predictions - Proteas to prove too good for Zimbabwe

Ralph Staniforth

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Last updated: 26 Jun 2025

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Ralph Staniforth 26 Jun 2025

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South Africa are favorites despite missing key players.
Zimbabwe lost 4 of their last 5 Test matches.
Key players to watch: Brian Bennett and Dewald Brevis.

South Africa to win first test after claiming WTC title (Getty Images)

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Zimbabwe have struggled in Test cricket for a few years now but they will fancy their chances against a young and inexperienced South African side. I still believe the Proteas will have too much quality.

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Head to Head
Zimbabwe Form
Zimbabwe Team News
South Africa Form
South Africa Team News

Zimbabwe have lost 4 of their last 5 Test matches.
Zimbabwe’s Brian Bennett scored 139 runs in his last Test match.
South Africa are World Test Championship champions.

Head to Head

South Africa lead 4-0 against Zimbabwe in their last five Test matches. One game ended in a draw.

Zimbabwe Form

Zimbabwe come into this first Test with just one victory in their last five long format games. Their last Test was played in England on 22 May, a match they lost by an innings and 45 runs.

Bowling first, Zimbabwe struggled with eh ball as England put on a 231-run opening stand. The hosts eventually declared for 565. Brian Bennett fought a lone hand in Zimbabwe’s first innings, scoring an impressive 139 runs as they were all out for 265.

Forced to follow-on, Bennett failed to pick up where he left off, but Sean Williams (88) and Sikandar Raza (60) put up some resistance, eventually all out for 255.

Zimbabwe Team News

Zimbabwe found some batting form in their one-off Test against England and should retain a similar lineup.

South Africa Form

South Africa are on a huge high after winning the World Test Championship just a few weeks ago. They defeated Australia at Lord’s in the final in what was a cracking game.

However, not too much can be read into that considering the squad that has traveled for this two-match series. David Bedingham, Keshav Maharaj, Wiaan Mulder and Kyle Verreynne are the only players who started against Australia that are on this tour.

The likes of Dewald Brevis, Matthew Breetzke, Kwena Maphaka, Tony de Zorzi, Zubayr Hamza and Lhuan-dre Pretorius will all be looking to force their way into the Test side.

South Africa Team News

Keshav Maharaj captains in Temba Bavuma’s absence. As mentioned above, this is a young side which could make for a competitive series.

Verdict

Zimbabwe v South Africa 1st Test

I am backing Tony de Zorzi to score 50+ in South Africa's first innings and also top score. Brian Bennett is tipped to top score in Zimbabwe's first innings.

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