7 hours ago
Australia vs South Africa World Test Championship final, how to watch, what time is first ball
Australia can make cricket history this week and become the first nation to win the World Test Championship twice.
Defending the crown they won in 2023, Australia will face South Africa at Lord's to determine the best Test nation over the previous two years.
Follow every ball of the World Test Championship final with the ABC Sport live blog, and the live commentary between Australia and South Africa at Lord's.
This will be the third World Test Championship final since its inception, and the second time Australia is in the final.
Here is everything you need to know about the 2025 World Test Championship final.
The World Test Championship final will be played at Lord's Cricket Ground from Wednesday, June 11, to Sunday, June 16.
The first ball of the Test match on Wednesday is scheduled to be bowled at 7:30pm, AEST.
The World Test Championship will be streamed on Amazon's Prime Video.
Prime Video has an exclusive broadcast deal for all ICC events from 2024-2027.
Those with an Amazon subscription will be able to watch the World Test Championship final.
ABC Sport will cover every ball of the World Test Championship online with the live blog, as well as live commentary on ABC Sport Digital Radio and via the ABC Listen App.
Brendan Doggett
(travelling reserve)
The World Test Championship is held over a two-year cycle.
For each Test, a nation can score championship points for a win, a draw or a tie.
The top two teams at the end of the cycle play in the final.
Because not every nation plays the same number of Tests, the standings are based on the percentage of points a team could have won.
South Africa played 12 Tests during the two-year cycle, compared to 19 by Australia.
South Africa finished the cycle with 100 points, compared to Australia's 154.
But the 100 points secured by South Africa were 69.44 per cent of the total available to them.
Meanwhile, Australia's 154 points were 67.54 per cent of the maximum amount of points they could have won.
India, which had been the beaten finalist in the two previous finals, was third in the standings with 50 per cent of available points achieved.
Australia began its cycle with an Ashes series in England, fresh off defeating India in the World Test Championship final in 2023.
A drawn Ashes series 2-2 gave Australia a solid foundation to build their points tally.
Of the 14 Test matches Australia played after the 2023 Ashes, they won 11.
A shock loss to the West Indies at the Gabba in January 2024, and a defeat in the first Test of last summer's Border-Gavaskar Trophy series against India were the only defeats for the defending champions.
Australia is on a four-match winning streak, winning the final two Tests against India, then completing a 2-0 sweep of Sri Lanka earlier this year.
South Africa made the perfect start to their two-year cycle during their Boxing Day Test against India in 2023.
At home, South Africa defeated India by an innings and 32 runs, but then results floundered.
South Africa would not win in their next four Tests, with three losses (one against India, two against New Zealand) and a draw with the West Indies.
But the Proteas surged to the top of the standings and into the final with seven consecutive wins.
South Africa defeated the West Indies in August 2024, then completed 2-0 series sweeps of Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan to qualify.
