WTC Final: Historic Feat as South Africa Finally End Trophy Drought

After 27 years of heartbreak, South Africa have finally won an ICC men’s trophy, clinching the 2023–25 ICC World Test Championship (WTC) Final against Australia at the iconic Lord’s Cricket Ground.

Aiden Markram was the hero for the Proteas as they completed a fourth-innings chase of 282 on day 4, marking their first ICC crown since 1998 courtesy of their 5-wicket win. For a team long haunted by the weight of history, this is more than just a championship—it’s catharsis.

Until now, South Africa’s relationship with ICC knockout matches had bordered on tragic. Five Cricket World Cup semi-final defeats (1992, 1999, 2007, 2015, and 2023), two quarter-final exits (1996, 2011), two T20 World Cup semi-finals (2009, 2014), a heartbreak in the 2024 T20 World Cup final, as well as five Champions Trophy semi-final losses earned them the moniker of chokers which ended today.

This World Test Championship title now sits beside their 1998 ICC Champions Trophy (then known as the Knockout Cup) win, ending decades of despair in knockout cricket. It also sets them apart as the first team besides Australia or New Zealand to lift the WTC mace.

The Aussies did not make things easy for South Africa on the fourth morning, as Bavuma and Tristan Stubbs’s wickets helped dampen their ambitions. However, Markram remained unrelenting, guiding his team expertly before falling at the last hurdle on 136.

The WTC crown also underscores South Africa’s remarkable 2023-25 cycle, where they finished as the best team to earn their place in the final.

June 14, 2025, will now be remembered as the day South African cricket shed its burden and stood tall. The ICC trophy cabinet may have gathered dust for 27 years, but now it gleams again—with the WTC mace at its heart.

And perhaps, finally, the term “chokers” can be retired. South Africa are ICC champions once more.