While South Africa scripted history with World Test Championship (WTC) 2025 title triumph, Australia bagged some unwanted record after missing shot at the coveted trophy at the iconic Lord's ground in London on June 14.
South Africa finally broke their long-standing hoodoo in ICC tournaments after thrashing Australia by five wickets in WTC 2023-2025 title. Despite consistently being a top-ranked team in world cricket for the past two decades, the Proteas had struggled to convert their prowess into ICC tournament victories. This unfortunate trend earned them the unenviable moniker of 'chokers' as they often found ways to lose from promising positions in major events. However, their triumph against Australia in the WTC final at Lord's, ending a 27-year wait for an ICC title, also brought an end to another significant, albeit less talked about, streak held by the Australian cricket team.
This defeat marks the first time in fifteen years that Australia have reached the final of an ICC event only to finish on the losing side. The last instance of Australia participating in and losing the final of an ICC men's tournament dates back to 2010, when they were defeated by England in the World T20 final. Since that setback, the Australian men's team had enjoyed an unbroken run of success in every ICC final they contested before the WTC Final of 2025. Their golden run included winning the ICC World Cup final in 2015, followed by lifting their maiden T20 World Cup title in 2021. Pat Cummins' team also triumphed in the inaugural WTC final in 2023 and further solidified their dominance by winning the ODI World Cup 2023.
Pat Cummins not happy with Australia's batting in WTC final against South Africa
Meanwhile, after the disappointing defeat against South Africa, Pat Cummins pointed out what went wrong for Kangaroos in the WTC final clash. Cummins wasn't happy with the Australia batting and after the match admitted that there are concerns in the top seven. After posting 212 on the board, Australia bundled out South Africa for a meagre 138. However Australia batters couldn't fully capitalise the 72-run lead and were themselves restricted for 207. None of the top seven batters scored a century as most of them returned to the hut after recording single digit scores. After Alex Carey's 43, it was Mitchell Starc who stood tall with a solid 136-ball 58 when the chips were down. However, the 282-run target wasn't too much for South Africa as they chased down the target with five wickets to spare, courtesy to Aiden Markram's match-winning 136 and Temba Bavuma's heroic 66.
"Things can change quickly, but it was a bridge too far. Few things we didn't do right. Didn't bat out the opposition after a decent first-innings lead. SA didn't give us a chance in the fourth innings. There are concerns in the top-seven, guys have performed well in the last two years. Bowlers did well in the first two days. We gave everything a chance, Lyon bowled particularly well but didn't get a wicket. Aiden and Temba didn't give us a chance. SA showed why they're here and are deserved winners, they kept themselves in the game throughout. It's the pinnancle, I love Test cricket. Huge achievement to make the final, one-game shootout is a spectacle, didn't end up on the right side but it's been a great week," Cummins said at the post match presentation.