The world’s top test nations will battle it out over a four-year period in the first edition of the World Test Championship. During this time, each Test-playing nation will have to play all of its rivals twice – once at home and once away from home. The victors of the league stage will then progress to a knock out phase consisting of semi-finals and a final which will decide the Test cricket champion.
Currently, the ICC’s flagship competition is the World Cup, which runs every four years and is contested by the world’s best eight teams. In the future, the World Test Championship will compete with the World Cup, and the winners will become the global Test champions.
The inaugural tournament was held in 2021 and 2023, with New Zealand beating India in the final of each event. This year, the final takes place at Lord’s after Southampton’s Rose Bowl and the Oval hosted the previous two.
This is the third time that Lord’s has hosted the WTC final, and it will be a different crowd than usual. With the final being contested by Australia and South Africa, it’s expected that both sides will have large contingents of supporters from outside England.
The Proteas are defending champions and they are favourites to win the final against the Australians. The team’s record this cycle is exceptional. Despite being criticised for their supposedly easier road in the 2023-25 WTC cycle, including not facing either Australia or England, they have won eight straight tests. Temba Bavuma won the toss for the Proteas and opted to bowl. Then, seasoned all-rounder Aiden Markram produced a marathon display to help the side clinch a famous victory.