In a cricket match for the ages, South Africa just became World Test Championship champions! They first beat Australia by five wickets at Lord’s. This win goes down as one of South African cricket’s greatest moments, having ended a 27-year wait for a men’s global championship. The win highlights the team’s tremendous grit and determination. It further opens the door to crucial debates regarding the format of the World Test Championship going forward.
In getting to that final, South Africa had played just 12 matches — the fewest of any of the nine teams that participated. Even with the relatively poor performance of their two horses – percent of points earned was the tie-break mechanic that ranked the teams. The victory has sparked new hope for South African cricket, a feeling felt widely among the cricketing greats including AB de Villiers.
De Villiers explained his reasoning in more detail while appearing on the Stumped podcast last week. He highlighted the value of going through different types of competitions to prepare you for a finale.
“You want to get to that final feeling like you’ve played against all these nations,” – AB de Villiers
As we look forward, South Africa’s upcoming schedule doesn’t do them any favors. With just four Tests scheduled over the next 16 months, their team and looking ahead managed to recently. Next month, they’ll take on Zimbabwe in two Tests, which will not count towards the World Test Championship table. Later in November, they’ll find themselves up against India again, this time marking the beginning of a two-Test series.
Those next four matches will be very important to establish and continue that momentum. South Africa will host Australia for three Tests in 2026 and England for another three Tests in early 2027. de Villiers thinks this bilateral structure isn’t working. He recommends moving the World Test Championship to a new four-year cycle.
“Maybe a four-year cycle would be nice. We’ve done that in the past with one-day internationals, so why not in Test cricket?” – AB de Villiers
He makes the case that a longer cycle would create a more level playing field for all countries engaged.
“It would make sense and it would give the organisers just so much more time to get a really fair, well-balanced system out there,” – AB de Villiers
De Villiers recognized the past letdowns of South African teams in World Cups.
“We’ve had some very disappointing and sad ends to a lot of campaigns, especially the World Cups, but now it’s time to start believing that we can do this more often,” – AB de Villiers
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