The culmination of the third instalment of the World Test Championship is nearly upon us as South Africa and Australia get set to battle it out at Lord’s for Test cricket‘s biggest prize.
Pat Cummins’ side are looking to go back-to-back after New Zealand won the inaugural edition, whilst South Africa, led by Temba Bavuma, have made the final for the first time.
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Proteas hoping to end barren run
South Africa’s rich history of talent over the years has not been reflected in ICC honours, having not won a major title since the 1998 Champions Trophy in Bangladesh.
The current crop have certainly been in the mix, losing the World T20 final to India in 2024 and falling at the semi-final hurdle in both the most recent World Cup and Champions Trophy.
The Test side had their most successful period between 2013-2015, holding the Mace as the top-ranked side under Graeme Smith and Hashim Amla but this is the first time they have reached the World Test Championship showpiece event since the revamped structure.
Despite finishing top of the league table over the two-year cycle, South Africa will be the heavy underdogs against an Australia side aiming to retain their crown after beating India at The Oval in 2023.
However, a potentially good omen for the Proteas is that 2025 has thus far been a year for ending trophy droughts with Royal Challengers Bengaluru finally securing their maiden IPL title and Paris-Saint-Germain lifting their first UEFA Champions League in the last week alone.
Aussies face selection dilemma
Australia’s 15-man squad for the one-off Test includes captain Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc, who both missed the most recent Sri Lanka series through injury, as well as all-rounder Cameron Green, who has not made a Test appearance in over 12 months after undergoing back surgery.
The return of Cummins and Starc, two of the three most prolific bowlers during this Test cycle, means Josh Hazlewood and Scott Boland will likely vie for the one remaining pace bowling spot, assuming Nathan Lyon will be selected as a frontline spin option.
Hazlewood would be the frontrunner to get the nod as a longstanding member of Australia’s golden age four-man bowling unit, averaging less than 20 since 2023 and coming off the back of a highly successful IPL campaign with RCB as the competition’s third-leading wicket-taker.
Boland, 36, has been a consistent performer whenever the opportunity has presented itself.
He claimed 21 wickets in just three matches during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy win over India in the winter, though did struggle in the 2023 Ashes and saw injury curtail his county stint with Durham when he was last on English soil.
The makeup of the batting order is also up in the air, with uncertainty around who will partner Usman Khawaja at the top of the order.
Exuberant teenager Sam Konstas displayed a fearless approach on debut against India and quickly established himself as a fan favourite – but was omitted from the side in Sri Lanka in favour of more experience which could be a similar story this time around.
With Travis Head expected to revert back to his more familiar role in the middle order, Josh Inglis may be pushed up to open as could Marnus Labuschagne, despite a difficult period for the former number one ranked batter with only one Test century since the end of 2022.
Beau Webster has cemented a role at number six as the primary all-rounder which would leave Green to come back into the side at number three, fresh after scoring three centuries in a five-game stint for Gloucestershire during the first half of the County Championship.
A potentially defining moment for South African Test cricket?
It is no secret that Test cricket as we know it faces an increasingly uncertain future, a driving force behind the introduction of the World Test Championship format to create a more competitive ecosystem.
The financial disparity between the “big three” and the rest is only going one direction, with another victory for Pat Cummins’ side likely to emphasise the gulf further and raise alarm bells over the makeup of the game’s longest format in years to come.
South Africa have been at the centre of cricket’s ongoing struggles, hitting the headlines for sending a second-string squad to New Zealand last year in order to prioritise the SA20, whilst it was also recently announced they would not host any Test cricket in their 2025-26 summer schedule.
A talent drain from the Test arena is already underway, with West Indies in particular struggling to field what would be considered their best XI, whilst South Africa have seen Quinton de Kock prematurely call time on his international Test career and Anrich Nortje temporarily step away in order to focus on white ball cricket.
These decisions will only ramp up for the in-demand likes of Kagiso Rabada, Aiden Markram, Marco Jansen and Tristan Stubbs who will all feature at Lord’s after competing in the IPL.
The hierarchy at Cricket South Africa may also be shifting their attention and resources towards white-ball glory ahead of co-hosting the 2027 World Cup, with a blossoming domestic franchise tournament feeding an already highly competitive international side.
Victory next week may do little to halt the current trajectory but could provide a much-needed boost to Test cricket in South Africa and the rest of the world in what is an increasingly rare opportunity to dethrone one of the established trio.
Route to the final
South Africa finished first in the standings, though only played the joint-fewest number of matches without facing Australia or England during the two-year cycle.
Their surge to the top was underpinned by a seven-match winning run, booking their place in the final two with a 2-0 victory over Pakistan to end with an insurmountable points percentage of 69.44.
As for Australia, they won four of their six series which included a pivotal 3-1 home success over India in the winter which eliminated their opponents from contention in the process.
They also arrive in England on a high after a recent 2-0 victory in Sri Lanka extended their winning run to four matches.
History at Lord’s
After Southampton in 2021 and The Oval in 2023, the Home of Cricket will host the third World Test Championship Final, a ground which both sides have enjoyed success at in recent times.
South Africa have won two out of their last three Tests at Lord’s, including an innings victory inside three days as they became the first side to conquer ‘Bazball’, with Rabada taking seven wickets in the match to help dismiss England twice for under 200.
Meanwhile, the Australia Test team will be returning to Lord’s for the first time since the controversial Jonny Bairstow stumping and the chaos that ensued during the 2023 Ashes.
They won that particular contest by 43 runs, a second win in three visits – a span in which Steve Smith has averaged 101.80 – and have only lost twice in almost 100 years.
By Dom Harris
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