Proteas make history by clinching the World Test Championship mace over Australia

It was scratchy, it was edgy and they should have lost another wicket on their way to the second biggest chase (282) at the Home of Cricket, but the Proteas pulled off one of the greatest days in South African cricket history.

History was made as the Proteas claimed the World Test Championship (WTC) mace after beating Australia by five wickets in the final at Lord’s.

Every run was applauded like a four, and every one of the three fours were celebrated like a century by the South African-strong crowd.

While nervous supporters watched in expectation, their cheers were laced with the anxiety of past Protea performances at ICC events: the dropped bat of 1999, the rain in 2003, the heartbreak in 2015 and the agony in 2024, among many others.

Proteas batters showed only glimpses of fluency and control throughout, as the pitch began assisting the classy Australian bowlers.

The only person who batted with any sense of calm on day four was Aiden Markram (136 off 207 balls), who added 34 runs from his overnight score as he took the team to within six runs of victory before his dismissal against the run of play. By then it was too late for the Aussies, and a job brilliantly done by Markram.

Read more: Battling Bavuma and Markram have guided the Proteas to the brink of cricketing history

Requiring 69 runs to clinch the WTC mace, South Africa’s (SA’s) chase got off to the worst possible start with skipper Temba Bavuma (66) only adding one run from the previous evening score, before edging behind to Pat Cummins in the second over of the day.

Tristan Stubbs (eight off 43) ate up deliveries and never got settled as the ball wobbled around a lot more than it did in day three, when the pitch was placid.

He was eventually bowled through the gate by Mitchell Starc — like he was by Josh Hazlewood in the first innings. But the few runs added by them were gold in the context of the chase.

Winning moment

SA required 14 runs when Australia took the new ball. Josh Hazlewood steamed in hoping to change the game. Instead, Markram, in trademark fashion, whipped the brand new Dukes off his legs and over mid-wicket for his 14th four.

But Hazlewood had the final say in the over. With only six required, Markram tried to finish it off and clip it over the ropes for his first maximum.

Instead the ball landed in the leaping hands of Travis Head at square leg.

There were no celebrations from the Australians, who recognised that the match was gone.

Markram, while being disappointed at not carrying the team over the finish line, did have an opportunity to raise his bat to an appreciative audience while also receiving plaudits from the Aussie players, who recognised what a great innings it was.

After the shock of the dismissal had disappeared from minds, appreciation of what Markram achieved on day three and four rose to the forefront of minds as the crowd stood to clap the opener off the field.

The Protea vice-captain trudged off the pitch slowly, as everyone in the ground, regardless of allegiance, acknowledged the efforts of Markram.

Final winning runs

It took Kyle Verreynne and David Bedingham 16 long, tension-filled deliveries to hit the final six winning runs. Eventually pinging through the covers by wicketkeeper batter Verreynne.

“Olé, Olé Olé Olé, Olé, Olé” rang out throughout those two overs and four balls, as the South Africans in attendance turned Lord’s into Centurion to witness the red-ball side make history.

A teary-eyed Keshav Maharaj recognised the crowd as helping to drag the team over the line.

“Without the crowd here, we probably wouldn’t be in this position after four days,” he said to an overjoyed Graeme Smith after play. DM