South Africa defeated Bangladesh by 220 runs on Monday, (April 4), at Kingsmead in Durban in the opening Test match of the SA vs BAN Test Series 2022. Therefore, the second Test match at St. George's Park in Port Elizabeth is a must-win game for Bangladesh. The Bangladesh team has to win the second match in order to save the series. As a result, it's crucial to get an idea of the teams’ record at this venue. Let's look at some noteworthy statistics at St. George's Park.
Teams' Stats in Test Matches at St. George's Park in Port Elizabeth
The second Test match between South Africa and Bangladesh will be played at St. George's Park, one of the oldest cricket grounds in the world. The first match was held at this ground between South Africa and England in 1989.
The visitors, England defeated the hosts, South Africa by eight wickets in the match. Since then, a total of 31 matches have been played at this venue, with 26 matches finishing in a win and the remaining 5 matches ending in a draw.
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Understandably, South Africa have participated in all of the matches. Despite the fact that the home team's record at this ground is not very impressive. The Proteas national men's Test team has won 13 games, lost 13, and drawn 5 matches at St. George's Park in Port Elizabeth. Bangladesh haven't played a Test match at this venue.
Team-wise Test Record at the St. George’s Park Ground in Port Elizabeth
|
Team |
Match |
Won |
Lost |
Draw |
|
South Africa |
31 |
13 |
13 |
5 |
|
England |
10 |
6 |
1 |
3 |
|
Australia |
7 |
3 |
4 |
0 |
|
New Zealand |
4 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
|
West Indies |
3 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
|
India |
2 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
|
Pakistan |
2 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
|
Sri Lanka |
2 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
|
Zimbabwe |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
Source: https://www.espncricinfo.com/
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After looking at the team's performance at St. George's Park, it's evident that England have a strong track record here. The English Test team has won six of their ten games and has only lost one. The English team won by an innings and 53 runs in the most recent match between these two teams at this venue, which took place in the year 2020.
Among the Asian teams, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have won a match each against South Africa on this ground. Pakistan defeated South Africa by five wickets in 2007, while Sri Lanka defeated the hosts by eight wickets in 2019.
South Africa haven't been a dominant side at this venue in recent years. Therefore, the Bangladesh side has a chance against this second-string South African team if they properly lay out a game plan. Besides, they will also have to analyze how Asian teams defeated the hosts in the longer-version format.
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Bottom Line
Given the Test statistics for St. George's Park in Port Elizabeth, it is clear that South Africa’s record at this venue is not very impressive. The Proteas men’s side usually struggles to get results in their favour on this ground. As a result, Bangladesh have a good chance of surprising South Africa in the second Test match.
Besides, the majority of South African players will be unavailable for this Test series due to their commitments to the Indian Premier League. Bangladesh should be confident heading into the second match of the SA vs BAN Test series 2022.