What happened the last time Australia and South Africa played a Test match at Lord's before 2025 WTC final?

Australia and South Africa sqaure off in the 2025 World Test Championship (WTC) final beginning Wednesday, June 11. The game will be played at the iconic Lord's cricket ground in London.

However, this is not the first instance where Australia and South Africa will be playing a Test match at Lord's. Before the 2025 WTC final game, the two teams last played a Test at the iconic venue way back in 1912, which is also the only Test between the two teams at this venue (before the 2025 WTC final).

It was a triangular Test-match tournament that involved Australia, South Africa and England. The two teams played the fifth match of the tournament at Lord's. Batting first, South Africa posted a total of 263 runs on the board in the first innings. Herbie Taylot had top-scored with 93, falling short of a ton, while Louis Stricker (48) amd Louis Tancred (31) made vital contributions. Bill Whitty had bagged four wickets for Australia while Roy Minnet and Gerry Hazlitt chipped in with a couple each.

In reply, the Australians made 390 runs in the second innings, taking a lead of 127 runs. They were led by centuries from Charles Kelleway (102) and Warren Bardsley (164). Sid Pegler had bagged four wickes for the Proteas while Dave Nourse picked up three.

In the third innings, the South African batters faltered completely and were bundled out for just 173, setting Australia a small target of 47 runs. Jimmy Matthews grabbed four wickets while Charles Macartney picked up three.

The Australian openers made light work of the chase, scaling the runs down in just 12.1 overs. Claude Jennings remained unbeaten on 22 while his partner Ernie Mayne was unbeaten on 25.

Therefore, Australia registered a comprehensive 10-wicket victory over South Africa in that game. That said, it will be after 113 long years that the two teams play a Test against each other at Lord's once again.

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Can South Africa stop Australia from retaining the WTC title?

Australia are the defending champions, having won the previous WTC final in 2023, where they had beaten India by 209 runs at The Oval. While South Africa finished at the top of the standings in the 2023-2025 cycle, Australia finished second and made it to the final for the second consecutive time.

Australia have several experienced and seasoned campaigners in their side, who have played the WTC final before. For South Africa, this is their first ever final. Moreover, they have quite a few players in their squad who will be playing for the first time at Lord's.

While South Africa have put up a spirited performance to make it to the final, it will still be a challenging task for them to stop Australia from retaining the WTC title. They will have to dominate right from the opening day till the very end and bring their best game forward.

With the challenge being huge, it also brings a massive opportunity for South Africa to create history and win an ICC title, which they have often failed to do despite having come close in tournaments across formats over the years.