Australia’s aura of invincibility in ICC finals could finally be punctured. For the first time in 15 years, Pat Cummins’ men find themselves on the ropes in a tournament decider, with South Africa needing just 69 runs and eight wickets in hand to clinch the ICC World Test Championship title at Lord’s.
Invincibles set to be dethroned
The stakes are monumental. Since their loss in the 2010 T20 World Cup final to England, Australia have triumphed in four ICC finals across formats — the 2015 and 2023 ODI World Cups, the 2021 T20 World Cup, and the WTC final in 2023. The current generation — Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, and Steve Smith — has built a legacy of pulling off wins in crunch moments. But on a grey London evening on June 14, that dominance appears threatened.
Mitchell Starc’s gritty 58 and a last-wicket stand with Josh Hazlewood helped Australia set a target of 282. It was, however, a Catch-22 situation for Australia. While the 59-run stand was worth its weight in gold, it gave away the pristine batting conditions that the Lord’s had to offer on Day 3.
And the day belonged to the Proteas. After early nerves and wicket of Ryan Rickelton, South Africa’s pursuit has been anchored by a masterful Aiden Markram century and a resilient Temba Bavuma, batting through a hamstring injury to reach 65* by stumps on Day 3.
Australia’s record at the ICC Finals
| Team | Result | Margin | Opposition | Ground | Start Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | Lost | 17 runs | West Indies | Lord’s | 21 Jun 1975 |
| Australia | Won | 7 runs | England | Eden Gardens | 8 Nov 1987 |
| Australia | Lost | 7 wickets | Sri Lanka | Lahore | 17 Mar 1996 |
| Australia | Won | 8 wickets | Pakistan | Lord’s | 20 Jun 1999 |
| Australia | Won | 125 runs | India | Johannesburg | 23 Mar 2003 |
| Australia | Won | 8 wickets | West Indies | Brabourne | 5 Nov 2006 |
| Australia | Won | 53 runs | Sri Lanka | Bridgetown | 28 Apr 2007 |
| Australia | Won | 6 wickets | New Zealand | Centurion | 5 Oct 2009 |
| Australia | Lost | 7 wickets | England | Bridgetown | 16 May 2010 |
| Australia | Won | 7 wickets | New Zealand | Melbourne | 29 Mar 2015 |
| Australia | Won | 8 wickets | New Zealand | Dubai (DICS) | 14 Nov 2021 |
| Australia | Won | 209 runs | India | The Oval | 7 Jun 2023 |
| Australia | Won | 6 wickets | India | Ahmedabad | 19 Nov 2023 |
| Australia | TBD | TBD | South Africa | Lord’s | 11 Jun 2025 |
South Africa’s golden chance to bury ‘Chokers’ tag
For South Africa, this World Test Championship (WTC) final is crucial because it’s their chance to move past their history. Since they consistently seem to make mistakes in important ICC matches, people have been calling them ‘chokers’ for years.
They haven’t won a major trophy since the Champions Trophy in 1998, but now they have a genuine chance to do so. As for World Cups, the Proteas have always remained so close yet so far. South Africa has a strong chance of winning thanks to the partnership of Markram and Bavuma, who have been incredibly reliable at the crease. Together, they amassed an undefeated 143 runs. Additionally, Steve Smith’s injury has made matters worse for Australia.
Editor's Pick
Cricket
"Yuvraj Singh asks Shubman Gill & Abhishek to go to bed by 9 PM": Yograj Singh
Top Stories
