International cricket in South Africa from 1971 to 1981 settlers. Cricket was no different. In 1891/2 Walter Read's Englishmen first played against a non-white team, the Malays. No non-white South Africans played any other international cricket until 1956, when a team of Kenyan Asians toured against South African non-whites. However, with apartheid laws becoming ever stricter, no non-white was selected for the national Test team. This did not, however, stop white-majority Commonwealth nations from playing white South Africa at cricket. In the 1970s and 1980s, the South African Cricket Board ran a competition called the Howa Bowl, which was contested between non-whites. The Basil D'Oliveira affair changed all that.
South Africa women's national cricket team 2–1, South Africa were defeated by 10 wickets in their first Test since their readmittance to international cricket. South Africa then played three consecutive series against England women, touring the country in 2003, and then hosting series in both 2003–04 and 2004–05. The 2003 series saw the two nations compete in two Test matches in addition to three ODIs. After a series of tour matches against county and representative sides in which South Africa mustered only one win in four attempts, the first Test match was drawn. The ODI series was scheduled before the second Test, and South Africa won