Australia is on the cusp of scripting another milestone. If the Baggy Greens trounce the Proteas, they will become the first team to defend the WTC mace successfully.
A B de Villiers described South Africa's squad as a well-balanced unit and backed them to pull off an upset against defending champions Australia.
India won their seventh ICC trophy, while registering their third Champions Trophy triumph.
A dominant 2-0 series win over New Zealand has elevated Sri Lanka to the third position in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 standings.
The postponement of the Test series between South Africa and Australia means New Zealand have become the first team to qualify for the inaugural ICC World Test Championship final to be held in England from June 18 to 22, with June 23 as the reserve day.
India, Australia and England are likely to be joined by South Africa, New Zealand and Sri Lanka in the top division, while Pakistan, the West Indies, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Ireland will be placed in the second division.
New Zealand claimed the inaugural WTC title with an eight-wicket victory over India in the final last month.
For their next assignment in the ICC World Test Championship cycle, the two-time WTC runners up will aim to grab maximum points across those four home clashes. Here are five key questions the side must answer prior to their next Test match-up.
''South Africa have got some world class batters and obviously they've got some unbelievable bowlers there as well so it's going to be a good challenge and obviously it's a one-off Test match.'
Aiden Markram hopes South Africa's ICC World Test Championship Final win over Australia has silenced any doubters and consigned their 'chokers' tag to history.
With the planned ceremony not going ahead in the UK, a formal announcement on the renaming of the trophy is scheduled for June 19, on the eve of the series-opener at Leeds.
Speaking to PTI, Lamb also spoke passionately about his playing days with Kapil Dev in County cricket and why he rates Sachin Tendulkar over Sunil Gavaskar and Virat Kohli.
Pakistan consolidated its top spot in the 2023-24 ICC World Test Championship table after a a 2-0 series sweep against Sri Lanka.
Anil Kumble lauded skipper Rohit Sharma for his leadership in the longest format of the game, pointing out how the 'Hitman' has managed the youngsters in the team and has been "proactive" with his resources.
ICC said it docked points and fined both England and Australia for maintaining slow over-rate during the recently-concluded Ashes series.
While this may not secure qualification outright, it would certainly keep them in contention. New Zealand head coach Gary Stead drew inspiration from the inaugural WTC cycle in 2019-21, when New Zealand won six consecutive matches enroute to securing the title.
ICC acting CEO Geoff Allardice said that would be possible only 'in a perfect world'.
There was much criticism of how South Africa managed to reach the final without playing either Australia and England in the two-year qualifying period.
Lyon emphasised that the World Test Championship format removes the possibility of "dead rubbers" in individual series, ensuring that every match remains important and competitive, with every point carrying weight within the two-year cycle.
India claimed the top spot in the World Test Championship standings
With a soaring PCT of 52.77, India surpassed South Africa, New Zealand, and Bangladesh, all with a PCT of 50.
Smith needs just 315 runs to become the fourth Australian batter after Ricky Ponting (13378), Allan Border (11174), and Steve Waugh (10927) to reach the landmark of 10,000 Test runs.
'India captain Rohit Sharma pleaded guilty to the offence and accepted the proposed sanction, so there was no need for a formal hearing.'
Bangladesh remained in ninth position and behind Pakistan despite gaining 13 rating points.
The Rohit Sharma-led Indian team consolidated its top position in the World Test Championship rankings following its 4-1 series win over England.
Boundary catches involving 'bunny hops', or multiple airborne touches outside the rope, have been deemed illegal by the Marylebone Cricket Club, with the new ruling set to be integrated into ICC's playing conditions this month and the MCC's laws from October next year.
Kyle Verreynne revealed his emotions almost got the better of him before he hit the winning runs to end South Africa's wait for a global trophy.
Australia (296 points from 3 series) toppled India (360 points from 4 series) in the standings after the revision with a percentage of 82.22 compared to the latter's 75 per cent.
Australia finished second in the league table during the 2023-25 WTC cycle, behind South Africa, having claimed 67.54 per cent of the points on offer to them.
Australia, following their eight-wicket win in the third and final Test against Pakistan at Sydney are on 56.25 percentage points and have pushed India to the second spot in the latest WTC standings issued by ICC on Saturday.
'That's great for our team and in a way Ashes are bloody hard to win. It's not going to be easy but if we were to win it, that is legacy defining stuff.'
ICC expecting full crowds for at least first four days of WTC final at Oval
South Africa will co-host the next 50-over Cricket World Cup in 2027 along with Zimbabwe and Namibia.
Speaking as quoted by Fox Sports, Waugh said, "I think they have picked the team on winning these last two Test matches."
'You need all the departments to do well for you,' Rohit Sharma explained. 'And I thought our strength really has been all three departments.'
Australia legend Steve Waugh believes under-fire Rohit Sharma can't afford to be 'complacent or relax' if he wants to continue serving Indian cricket.
Gillespie said that he feels that either one of Labuschagne or Usman Khawaja, the 38-year-old who failed to touch double-digits in both WTC final innings, will miss out on West Indies tour, which comprises three Tests, starting June 25.
Ahead of England's five-match Test series against India at home, head coach Brendon McCullum hailed young all-rounder Jacob Bethell
India last won a major ICC tournament back in 2013 -- the ICC Champions Trophy.
Here's a wrap of all major international episodes in 2024.
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