- South Africa have won the World Test Championship, their first major global title
- Aiden Markram hit 136 as his side chased down 282 to beat Australia at Lord’s
- Markram had been out for a duck in South Africa’s first innings of just 138
South Africa consigned the C word to history at Lord’s after centurion Aiden Markram took them to their first major global title.
Victory over Australia in the World Test Championship final, sealed during an extra 15-minute period after lunch was delayed, finally ended years of the Proteas choking with the finish line in sight.
Their only previous success on the world stage came in 1998 when they claimed the Wills Knockout — an eight-match event that became the Champions Trophy.
Markram made nought first innings but his Test career has featured important hundreds, none more important than this, his third against Australia, to get the South Africans to their target of 282 – the highest score of a bowler-dominated match.
South Africa resumed their fourth innings on 213 for two, but held their nerve as Australia fought gamely to create inroads and panic.
Sealing the second biggest chase in Tests at Lord’s came against a backdrop of claims that they were not worthy finalists – having qualified despite not facing England or Australia and used a Championship high 31 players across a bare minimum schedule of just 12 matches, triggered by effectively forfeiting a series in New Zealand to prioritise their Twenty20 competition.
South Africa have claimed the ICC World Test Championship to win their first major global title
Aiden Markram played a starring role in South Africa’s historic victory at Lord’s in London
Opener Markram anchored South Africa’s chase with a knock of 136 runs off 207 deliveries
But they could only beat the opposition put in front of them and this victory over the number one-ranked Australia was a vindication of Temba Bavuma’s tactics: inserting Australia in the knowledge that bowling was his team’s strength and that Lord’s pitches tend to flatten out.
Their attack, led by the brilliant Kagiso Rabada, set things up under gloomy skies and the batters finished things in the sunshine.
Huge cheers greeted Australia captain Pat Cummins’ fourth delivery of the morning as his opposite number Bavuma punched the ball through cover and limped a single – a reminder of the hamstring impairment he battled to get to 65.
However, it was the only addition to his overnight score as Cummins’ excellent line drew an outside edge for a regulation caught behind.
It was the early breakthrough that Australia craved, but such was their desperation for more that Australia burnt all three of their reviews within an eight-over period.
Tristan Stubbs was out immediately after the second of those, to a Mitchell Starc bail trimmer, and Markram clipped the second new ball into the hands of midwicket with just six required.
He departed to handshakes all round from the Aussies and a standing ovation from a South African-dominated crowd for his 136, but Verreynne squirted the winning run through the off-side after surviving a glove behind earlier in Starc’s over.
