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The third staging of World Test Championship comes to its conclusion this week in London, where England and South Africa will vie for the honour of being crowned as the best team in Test cricket. The concept has not been without its controversy – particularly in the way it is weighted and scored – but the climactic showdown at Lord’s will provide the context that Test cricket so often craves.
Defending champions Australia are favourites to win the competition, although they have had to battle hard to qualify for the final. The ICC’s reworking of the points system meant that they had to win all three of their home series in order to secure top spot, while also avoiding defeat in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. They have done so with aplomb, having only lost once on their tour of the West Indies and having a strong record in India, where they are unbeaten.
South Africa are also in excellent form, largely thanks to an exemplary batting display from Aiden Markram in the fifth and final Test at Lord’s. His six hours, 23 minutes in the middle laid to rest the ghosts of heartbreaking losses on big ICC stages that have haunted the Proteas for decades. It was a day that will go down as one of the greatest in South African sporting history.