The staircase at the Wanderers is a long one, and Zubayr Hamza remembers it. In January 2019 he walked down it for his Test debut, and admitted to the nerves afterwards. Nearly three years after his last Test, he is back at the same ground, in South Africa’s XI for the first Test against Bangladesh, which starts today. This Zubayr Hamza career profile follows the Cape Town batter from the Proteas’ 100th Test cap, through a slump, a ban and a fresh start with the Lions, to another chance, this time at No 3.
Zubayr Hamza career profile: quick facts
- Full name: Zubayr Hamza
- Age: 31, according to the ICC
- From: born and raised in Cape Town (ICC)
- Role: right-handed top-order batter who also bowls leg-spin (ICC)
- Domestic team: the Lions, since the 2023/24 season; before that the Cape Cobras and Western Province
- Test debut: v Pakistan, third Test, the Wanderers, 11 January 2019, as the Proteas’ 100th Test player
- ODI debut: v the Netherlands, Centurion, 26 November 2021 (56, in a match abandoned for rain)
- Test record, as at 15 November 2026, before play: the ICC’s player page lists no career totals; its last published count was six Tests and one ODI, in May 2022. His most recent Test before this series was in New Zealand in February 2024.
Early life and background
Hamza was born and raised in Cape Town and grew up idolising Hashim Amla, the ICC noted before his debut. He went to Rondebosch Boys High and studied towards a BCom in accounting at the University of the Western Cape, which named him its Sportsman of the Year in 2017 and later hailed him as the first UWC cricketer to play a Test.
He began playing franchise cricket for the Cobras shortly after turning 21, The Citizen reported, and the runs came quickly: 52 first-class matches in a little over two years by January 2019, at an average of 49.29 with nine hundreds, according to the ICC. When Cricket South Africa called him up in December 2018, it pointed to 823 runs at 69 in one four-day franchise season, and Linda Zondi, then the national selection convenor, said: “Zubayr has been one of the standout cricketers in domestic cricket over the past year”.
Domestic career
Western Province and the Cobras
He spent close to ten years with Western Province, by his own count, with his franchise cricket at the Cape Cobras. After he lost his Test place in 2020, white-ball cricket rebuilt him: he averaged 55.58 at a strike-rate of 97.81 in the One-Day Cup later that season, The Citizen reported, and he did not hide what drove him: “It was a bit of spite actually to get one-up on the naysayers who said I couldn’t play limited-overs cricket.”
The Lions, from 2023
In 2023 he moved to the Lions in Johannesburg. “It definitely feels like a fresh start and a reset,” he said at their season launch, where two other new arrivals were waiting: head coach Russell Domingo and batting coach Hashim Amla, his boyhood idol.
The move has paid off. TimesLIVE reported on Saturday that he has averaged over 50 for the Lions in each of the past three seasons. The high point came at the Wanderers in April 2025, in the 4-Day Series final against the Titans: about five and three-quarter hours for 103, his 18th first-class century, in his 100th first-class match, the Lions reported. Rain forced a draw, and the trophy was shared.
For South Africa A in Potchefstroom in September 2025, he followed a golden duck against New Zealand A with 126, his 19th first-class century, in a losing cause, Wisden reported. SA Cricket Mag reported scores of 78 and 68 against Bangladesh A this year.
International career
The 100th Test player, 2019
Named for the Pakistan series as a possible new cap, he skipped the first Mzansi Super League. “The month off gave me perspective and I focused on working on myself and on my game,” he told the ICC.
His chance came in the third Test at the Wanderers on 11 January 2019, with Faf du Plessis suspended, and made him the 100th player to represent the Proteas in Test cricket. When Amla was out, the debutant made the walk. “When that wicket fell and I had to walk down the long Wanderers steps, I definitely felt the pressure and the nerves,” he told Business Day. It did not show for long: he hit the day’s first six, TimesLIVE reported, a whip over midwicket off Shadab Khan, in Business Day’s account. The second innings brought a second-ball duck.
Ranchi, 2019
His best Test innings came in October 2019, in the third Test against India in Ranchi. With South Africa 16 for 3 on day three, he and Temba Bavuma steadied the innings, and Hamza went on to 62, his maiden Test half-century, SA Cricket Mag and ESPNcricinfo’s match report record. India still won by an innings and 202 runs.
Dropped, 2020
He lost his Test place in January 2020, during the home series against England, after five Tests, The Citizen reported, and a slump followed. “It was mostly in the mental space that I had problems, but I managed to turn it around,” he said in November 2021.
A first ODI, 2021
The white-ball runs earned an ODI call against the Netherlands. On debut at SuperSport Park in Centurion on 26 November 2021 he made 56 from 79 balls before rain ended the match, the ICC and SuperSport reported.
The 2022 suspension
In February 2022 he played one more Test, against New Zealand. In May that year the ICC suspended him for nine months after he admitted an anti-doping rule violation: furosemide, a specified substance on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s 2022 prohibited list, had been found in an out-of-competition sample he gave in Paarl on 17 January 2022. The ICC said he had established no significant fault or negligence. The ban was backdated to 22 March 2022, when he accepted a provisional suspension, and his individual performances from 17 January to 22 March 2022, including that Test, were disqualified. He was eligible to return on 22 December 2022.
New Zealand, 2024
His recall came in an unusual side. Cricket South Africa’s squad for New Zealand, named on 31 December 2023, had seven uncapped players, captain Neil Brand among them, because SA20 contracts kept many first-choice players at home, Daily Maverick explained. Hamza played on that tour in February 2024, but TimesLIVE noted that scores of 22, 36, 20 and 17 did not earn the coach’s confidence. It was his last Test until now.
The way back, 2026
On 2 November 2026 he was recalled to the 15 for the Bangladesh Test series, with Shukri Conrad saying he gave the top order more depth; our analysis of the thinking behind those picks carries the coach’s own words. On Saturday Bavuma announced the XI for the first Test, with Hamza at No 3 ahead of Tony de Zorzi, TimesLIVE reported. Conrad wants whoever wins the No 3 place to keep it, as our first Test preview set out, so this is more than a one-match audition.
Playing style
The Lions have called him one of the most talented strokeplayers in the country, and ESPNcricinfo describes free-flowing strokes combined with a willingness to grind out an innings. His captain sees more of the attacking side now. “From a playing point of view, he’s a lot more aggressive and looks to take the game on,” Bavuma said, in comments reported by TimesLIVE on Saturday.
White-ball cricket shaped that: he moved from the red-ball middle order to the top of the white-ball order, adapting his scoring areas and strike-rate, he told The Citizen in 2021.
He knows today’s ground, too. Speaking there in 2023, he said both his Test debut and his franchise debut for the Cobras had come at the Wanderers, and that the pitch rewards quick scoring but can be hard on top-order batters: “you have to get that balance right between risk and reward.”
Honours and records
- The Proteas’ 100th Test player: debut v Pakistan at the Wanderers, January 2019
- Maiden Test half-century and highest Test score: 62 v India in Ranchi, October 2019
- 56 on ODI debut v the Netherlands in Centurion, November 2021
- 4-Day Series title with the Lions, shared with the Titans, April 2025, with 103 in the final: his 18th first-class century, in his 100th first-class match
- 823 runs at 69, with three centuries, in a four-day franchise season for the Cobras (Cricket South Africa, December 2018)
Where he is now: as at 15 November 2026
He is in the XI for the first Test against Bangladesh, which begins at the Wanderers today, 15 November, at 10:00 SAST and is scheduled to end on Thursday 19 November. Centurion’s SuperSport Park hosts the second Test from 23 November, according to Cricket South Africa.
Five of the XI named on Saturday play their franchise cricket for the Lions: Bavuma, Hamza, Wiaan Mulder, Kagiso Rabada and Ryan Rickelton. Bavuma said there was no better place for Hamza’s chance at No 3 than the ground he has made his home. How he fares from today belongs to the close-of-play reports; this page will be updated after the series.
Frequently asked questions
How old is Zubayr Hamza?
The ICC lists Zubayr Hamza’s age as 31. He made his Test debut at 23, against Pakistan at the Wanderers in January 2019.
Which team does Zubayr Hamza play for?
The Lions, whom he joined from Western Province in 2023. Before the move he played his franchise cricket for the Cape Cobras.
When did Zubayr Hamza make his Test debut?
On 11 January 2019, in the third Test against Pakistan at the Wanderers in Johannesburg. He was the 100th player to represent the Proteas in Test cricket.
Why was Zubayr Hamza suspended in 2022?
In May 2022 the ICC suspended him for nine months after he admitted an anti-doping rule violation, furosemide having been found in an out-of-competition sample. He established no significant fault or negligence on his part, the ICC said, and he was eligible to return on 22 December 2022.
Is Zubayr Hamza playing in the first Test against Bangladesh?
Yes. Bavuma named him in the XI on 14 November, at No 3 ahead of Tony de Zorzi according to TimesLIVE. The Test begins at the Wanderers on 15 November, with play from 10:00 SAST.