An international match at Lord’s and specifically a Test Match is a big event in itself but a world final just adds to the occasion even more. While it is the third World Test Championship final overall, it is the first one at Lord’s which was always the desired and preferred location for the International Cricket Council to conduct their showpiece Test fixture. Finally Lord’s gets the chance to do that in 2025 after logistical hurdles in 2023 and 2021. Additionally, a neutral Test at Lord’s is a unique and rare event. Lord’s has hosted more Test Matches than any other venue (147) and more Men’s Cricket World Cup finals (5) than any other, so the staging of the World Test Championship final at Lord’s is like a celebration of both of those feats with the the closest there is to a World Cup final in the Test format. Two Southern Hemisphere sides will be battling it out to be crowned World Test Champions in the first ever Lord’s Test final commencing on 11th June. For South Africa in particular, this is their biggest ever Test Match and especially given they are yet to win a World Cup in limited overs cricket, this fixture at Lord’s provides an opportunity for global silverware against the defending World Test Champions. The Proteas will be hoping to replicate the story of New Zealand who won the inaugural WTC as a non big three side who like South Africa had never won a World Cup either.
Australia and South Africa have previously played a Lord’s Test against each other in 1912 which Australia won by 10 wickets.
There have been two neutral Test Matches at Lord’s before in 1912 between Australia and South Africa and in 2010 between Australia and Pakistan where Steve Smith made his Test debut. Steve Smith will therefore be the first cricketer to play in two neutral Lord’s Tests.
Australia (18) and South Africa (6) are the two nations with the most Test victories at Lord’s from visiting opponents. Australia’s 18 Test wins at Lord’s include victories in the only two neutral Tests the ground has staged.
South Africa did not play in England or against Australia in the current World Test Championship cycle, but they will get the chance to change both of those in the final.
South Africa will be playing at Lord’s twice in 2025 as they have a bilateral ODI in September in addition to the final of the World Test Championship.
The last ICC match at Lord’s was a tie – the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup final. Likewise, the last time Australia and South Africa met in an ICC knockout encounter in England it was also a tie in the 1999 ICC Cricket World Cup semi final.
There have been three world red ball finals at Lord’s before with the first three sixty over World Cup finals where they fought for the Prudential Cup. Although it is the first Test final at the ground with Aus vs SA in the WTC final for 2025.
Both South Africa and Australia have won their last Test at Lord’s and have won two of their last three Tests at Lord’s.
June 2025 will also be the 50th anniversary of the first ever Prudential World Cup final at Lord’s between West Indies and Australia. Fifty years on Lord’s will host its 10th ICC final (5 Men’s World Cup finals, 2 Women’s World Cup finals and a Men’s and Women’s T20 World Cup final on the same day in 2009) but first in the longest format.
Australia have previously won a global event at Lord’s in 1999 during the World Cup final and they were runners up in the first ever World Cup final in 1975 also staged at Lord’s.
In recent years Lord’s has hosted two first class County finals in 2020 and 2021 called the Bob Willis Trophy, a competition created for COVID times to allow first class cricket to be played during the pandemic in a slightly altered format.
Wickets and Runs | Wicketsandrunsdotnet 