SA vs AUS WTC 2025 Final: Lord's, London pitch history and Test records

The third edition of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) will conclude this week, with the final between South Africa and Australia beginning on Wednesday, June 11, at Lord's. It is the Proteas' first appearance in the summit clash of the WTC, while Australia are the defending champions.

Two years ago, Australia won their first World Test Championship title by defeating India in the final. The Aussies will be keen to beat the Proteas and retain the championship.

On the other hand, South Africa will aim to make history and win their first WTC title. Before the final begins in London, here's a quick look at the pitch history of the Lord's Cricket Ground.

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Lord's, London, Test records

The iconic venue in London has hosted 147 Test matches, with the first one coming in 1884. Teams winning the toss have won 53 Tests at this venue.

Here are some other important stats from the previous Test matches hosted by this ground:

Test matches played: 147

Won by teams batting first: 53

Won by teams batting second: 43

Drawn: 51

Highest individual score: 333 - Graham Gooch (ENG) vs India, 1990

Best bowling figures (innings): 8/34 - Ian Botham (ENG) vs Pakistan, 1978

Best bowling figures (match): 16/137 - Robert Massie (AUS) vs England, 1972

Highest team total: 729/6 dec - Australia vs England, 1930

Lowest team total: 38 - Ireland vs England, 2019

Highest successful run-chase: 344/1 - West Indies vs England, 1984

Average first innings score: 310.

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Lord's, London, Pitch report

The pitch in London generally supports bowlers and batters equally in Test cricket. A team has been bundled out for less than 40, while a batter alone has smashed 300+ at this venue, showing that it is all about execution. The exact pitch report will be live before the toss.

This will be the first time in more than 100 years that Lord's will host a Test between Australia and South Africa. The last one came in 1912 when Australia won by 10 wickets.

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Lord's, London, Last Test match

England defeated Sri Lanka by 190 runs in the last Test hosted by this iconic venue in August-September 2024. Centuries from Joe Root (143) and Gus Atkinson (118) guided England to 427 in the first innings. Sri Lanka were all out for just 196.

Joe Root hit a century in the second innings as well (103) to help England set a 483-run target for Sri Lanka. The islanders lost all their wickets for 292, losing the match by 190 runs. Here is the match summary:

Brief scores: England 427 (Joe Root 143, Asitha Fernando 5/102) & 251 (Joe Root 103, Asitha Fernando 3/52) beat Sri Lanka 196 (Kamindu Mendis 74, Matt Potts 2/19) & 292 (Dinesh Chandimal 58, Gus Atkinson 5/62) by 190 runs.