World Test Championship is a biennial competition for the sport of Test cricket organised by the International Cricket Council. The ICC Test Mace is awarded to the winner of the championship.
South Africa ripped the champion tag from Australia’s callused hands and consigned it to history on Saturday, claiming the first major trophy for the Proteas in 27 years with victory in an epic final at Lord’s. The South Africans, led by talisman Temba Bavuma and ace bowler Kagiso Rabada, reached the final with a stellar campaign that included series wins in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, plus a draw against India.
Despite losing the final, Australia remain top of the table and favourites to win this year’s championship. Their fine season has been built on a strong home record, a 3-0 triumph against the West Indies and a 3-2 triumph in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Sri Lanka.
A big draw at Lord’s – which drew almost 80,000 spectators – was a fitting backdrop for the final as South Africa and Australia met in an epic battle between underdogs and heavyweights. It was a game of colossal proportions, and one that shook the foundations of a sport that had become accustomed to seeing its best teams win everything on offer.
Rare is the major tournament that doesn’t have some aggrieved sides contemplating what might have been, but it was especially unsettling to see the champions so comprehensively routed in a fixture that smacked of a shambles masquerading as a showpiece. That’s what Wisden’s Lawrence Booth called it, at any rate.