A high-stakes duel at cricket’s grandest stage, where reputations will be tested and silverware is finally within South Africa’s grasp.
It’s early June in London, which means two things: unpredictable weather, and even more unpredictable cricket.
At Lord’s, the sport’s most fussy and fabled amphitheatre, the 2025 World Test Championship final is almost upon us. Australia versus South Africa. One side dripping in pedigree and trophies; the other, still thumbing through the “How to win one” manual.
The WTC final, starting Wednesday, has quickly become Test cricket’s version of the Oscars; long, traditional, a touch self-important, but ultimately impossible to ignore. And for the first time, South Africa has secured an invitation to the top table. A nation known for producing cricketers who could bend matches to their will, and teams that could somehow lose semi-finals in seven different, entirely unique ways, finally gets its shot at silverware.
That they’ve reached this point is no small feat. South Africa’s campaign started with whispers of transition and concerns over depth. What followed was an improbably consistent run, marked by resilience, key series wins, and a dramatic finish against Pakistan.
No one’s quite sure how they got here, but here they are, with a new-look side that doesn’t carry the baggage of their forebears – yet.
Temba Bavuma, whose leadership style could best be described as “low drama, high function,” has emerged as a quietly pivotal figure. He has found form at the right time, with consistent scores and calm leadership over the past few series.
Around him is a squad short on Lord’s experience but long on pace and promise. Kagiso Rabada still snarls with intent. Marco Jansen, the 2,06m swing merchant, will love the English air. And Lungi Ngidi has the look of a bowler who could ruin someone’s morning before lunch.
That said, they’re up against Australia. And if there’s one thing Australia loves more than beating England, it’s winning finals. Especially on neutral turf. The men in Baggy Green already own this trophy, having dismantled India in the 2023 edition. They arrive in London with a team so balanced it could moonlight as a trapeze act.
Pat Cummins, now deep into his captaincy era, leads a pace unit as reliable as it is terrifying. Josh Hazlewood is back from injury and promptly bowling like he never left. Mitchell Starc swings it at 144km/h when he’s not breaking toes, and Nathan Lyon has been around so long he probably remembers when players still wore cable-knit jumpers unironically.
The batting? Business as usual. Steve Smith is still averaging something ridiculous at Lord’s, Travis Head is still belting bowlers like they’ve personally offended him, and Marnus Labuschagne still looks like he’s playing three different innings in his head at once. The only question mark is David Warner, whose retirement watch has gone from “ticking” to “echoing.” But even if he stumbles, Australia has enough depth to cover the cracks with sandpaper (sorry, experience).
The contrast in narrative is delicious. Australia are the dependable juggernaut. South Africa are the mercurial underdogs with nothing to lose. And that’s exactly what makes them dangerous. Rabada, speaking to media recently, suggested the Proteas know what it takes to challenge Australia, and recent series support that view. He’s not wrong: South Africa have had success against Australia in recent years. But a World Test Championship final at Lord’s is a different beast.
Speaking of Lord’s, there’s no better, or more theatrical, venue for a cricketing showdown. The slope, the blazers, the £9 pints of warm lager, it’s all part of the charm. But Lord’s can also be fickle. It rewards patience, punishes flash, and sometimes hands the game to whoever’s wearing the least smug expression on day four.
Australia, notably, have never lost a WTC final. South Africa, notably, have never played one. That counts for something. But the Proteas won’t mind being labelled inexperienced. With no expectations and no real history in this competition to weigh them down, they can play with clarity, maybe even freedom. Or, at the very least, with the cool indifference of a team used to being written off.
Still, there are valid concerns. This is a team still figuring out its identity. There are young players – Jansen, Coetzee, Verreynne – who haven’t had to cope with a packed Lord’s crowd or a relentless Australian pace attack on a slow day three pitch. On this stage, temperament might matter more than talent.
But this is the beauty of the WTC final: it compresses the long, meandering art of Test cricket into a single event, a five-day distillation of everything that makes the format great. It brings urgency to a game that traditionally prefers to stretch out like a cat in a sunbeam.
So, what’s likely to unfold? Australia, barring a catastrophic collapse, will do what Australia always do: set a high bar, punish mistakes, and apply relentless, professional pressure. South Africa, on the other hand, could surprise. If their bowlers get early movement, if the batsmen kick on, if the tail wags instead of whimpers, well, who knows?
This match might not carry the glamour of an Ashes series or the scale of a World Cup final, but in many ways, it matters more to purists. It’s a celebration of discipline and durability. It’s a contest between a cricketing superpower and a team still writing its story, one scorecard at a time.
Come Friday morning, as the covers come off and the click of camera shutters starts to build a rhythm of its own, Lord’s will once again do what it does best: turn a game into a stage play. Five acts, maybe less. Heroes, villains, rain delays.
The only certainty? Someone’s walking away with the mace. And someone else’s week is about to get very long indeed.
