diff --git a/scripts/environment.sh b/scripts/environment.sh
index 1f388e7b7c..2613819ba5 100644
--- a/scripts/environment.sh
+++ b/scripts/environment.sh
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@ if [[ ${GINKGO_FOCUS:-} == "clusterctl-upgrade" ]]; then
 fi
 
 # Integration test environment vars and config
-if [[ ${GINKGO_FOCUS:-} == "integration" ]]; then
+if [[ ${GINKGO_FOCUS:-} == "integration" || ${GINKGO_FOCUS:-} == "basic" ]]; then
   export NUM_NODES=${NUM_NODES:-"2"}
   export CONTROL_PLANE_MACHINE_COUNT=${CONTROL_PLANE_MACHINE_COUNT:-"1"}
   export WORKER_MACHINE_COUNT=${WORKER_MACHINE_COUNT:-"1"}
diff --git a/test/e2e/basic_integration_test.go b/test/e2e/basic_integration_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..29f6ecae71
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/e2e/basic_integration_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+package e2e
+
+import (
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"strings"
+
+	. "github.com/onsi/ginkgo/v2"
+	. "github.com/onsi/gomega"
+)
+
+var _ = Describe("When testing basic cluster creation [basic]", func() {
+	BeforeEach(func() {
+		osType := strings.ToLower(os.Getenv("OS"))
+		Expect(osType).ToNot(Equal(""))
+		validateGlobals(specName)
+
+		// We need to override clusterctl apply log folder to avoid getting our credentials exposed.
+		clusterctlLogFolder = filepath.Join(os.TempDir(), "clusters", bootstrapClusterProxy.GetName())
+	})
+
+	It("Should create a workload cluster", func() {
+		By("Fetching cluster configuration")
+		k8sVersion := e2eConfig.GetVariable("KUBERNETES_VERSION")
+		By("Provision Workload cluster")
+		targetCluster, _ = createTargetCluster(k8sVersion)
+	})
+
+	AfterEach(func() {
+		DumpSpecResourcesAndCleanup(ctx, specName, bootstrapClusterProxy, artifactFolder, namespace, e2eConfig.GetIntervals, clusterName, clusterctlLogFolder, skipCleanup)
+	})
+})