The South African national cricket team, also known as the Proteas, will travel to the sub-continent to take on rivals India in their longest ever cricket tour of the country in a few months time with the schedule set to see all three formats of the game played over a nine-week period.

This was revealed during the week by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The tour is set to involve three Twenty20 matches, five one-day internationals and four Tests, with all of the action taking place between September 29 and December 7.

Another piece of history will be made with South Africa playing their first ever Twenty20 international on Indian soil, allowing the best possible preparation for the World Twenty20 which will be hosted in India during the months of March and April 2016.

The Proteas have never contested a four-Test series in India before, contributing another first in what is set to be a historic tour on many levels.

Cricket fans in South Africa were in mourning this week as they paid their respects to the country’s first captain after isolation, Clive Rice, who passed away on July 28 at 66 years of age after a long battle with illness.

Cricket South Africa (CSA) flew the country’s flag at its Johannesburg offices at half-mast in tribute to Rice, who was a stellar all-rounder and an excellent ambassador for the game of cricket and the country he represented.

The Proteas wore black armbands in the test match against Bangladesh which started on Thursday in remembrance of their former captain and out of respect for his passing.