South Africa eye redemption, Australia chase legacy as WTC final begins at Lord’s

Some things happen so rarely that they start to feel like an exception to the general rule. Like Roger Federer losing only one grand slam final to a player who was not Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic.

Like Real Madrid losing only 3 out of 18 UEFA Champions League finals. Like the Australian men’s cricket team losing only 3 out of 13 ICC finals across three formats – ODIs, T20Is and Tests. To think of any other outcome feels like wishful thinking. And then there is this complete opposite to this dominance. Call it underachievement, if you will.

Whether it’s the ‘90s generation in men’s professional tennis who could only win two grand slams in comparison to 80 by the players born in the ‘80s, or Arsenal who have managed to reach just one Champions League (and lost it), or the South African men’s cricket team who have reached just two ICC finals -- the Champions Trophy in 1998, which they won and the T20 World Cup in 2024, which they lost to India.

It is this contrast that will be on display when Temba Bavuma’s South Africa take on Pat Cummins-led Australia in the World Test Championship (WTC) final starting on Wednesday (June 11, 2025) at Lord’s. The Proteas will have their task cut out to achieve the exceptional -- stop the pedigreed Kangaroos from winning their 11th world title, and win a second trophy for themselves.

But Australians are not going to be their only opponents. South Africa will also be fighting against the perceptions that they didn’t fairly earn their place in the final, having taken an easier route by playing fewer Tests and against weaker opponents. So much so that the naysayers have started questioning the very format of the WTC, with Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack calling the final as a “shambles masquerading as a showpiece”.

“The ICC cannot allow the championship to continue as if designed on the back of a fag packet,” wrote Lawrence Booth, Wisden’s editor. Yet, it’s the very gripe that underlines the success of the format. The WTC is clearly imperfect with teams playing unequal number of Tests during the two-year cycle – Australia played 19 Tests to South Africa’s 12 in the previous cycle, for instance.

But the anomaly is of the making of the socalled big three who never agree to schedule series of adequate length against South Africa or others. If the true purpose of the WTC was really to provide meaning to bilateral Test cricket, South Africa’s place in the final should be celebrated, rather than whined about.

The moment India lost 0-3 to New Zealand at home in November last year, South Africa’s subsequent home series against Sri Lanka and Pakistan became vastly meaningful. South Africa’s presence, like New Zealand in 2021, gives hope to the world that Test cricket maybe struggling in countries other than India, England and Australia but it hasn’t lost charm.

That despite the ever-widening gulf between the haves and have-nots, they can still challenge for the global titles. While Australia are definitely the favourites to defend their title, South Africa are far from sitting ducks. With both sides having concerns in the batting department, the Test will probably be decided by the bowlers.

And South Africa are a good match for Australia with their pace triumvirate of Kagiso Rabada, Marco Jansen and Lungi Ngidi being as spiteful as Australia’s troika of Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc. Nathan Lyon may be a more accomplished spinner, but Keshav Maharaj can carry the hopes of his team.

When South Africa step onto the Lord’s hallowed turf, they will feel the weight of history and perception on their shoulders. But in the next five days, Bavuma and Co. can shed that weight and prove the doubters wrong while providing a new direction and motivation to the sport in their country.