South Africa and Australia will face off in the World Test Championship (WTC) 2025 final at Lord’s in London from Wednesday.
The winner of the contest will be crowned the champion of the third edition of the WTC and will take home the prized ICC Test mace. While Australia has an overwhelming head-to-head advantage over the Proteas in the longest format of the game, South Africa has closed the gap in recent years.
Australia, ranked No. 1 in the ICC World Test Rankings, will take confidence from its strong record in Tests at Lord’s—The Home of Cricket. However, the last time South Africa played a Test here, it thrashed host England by an innings and 12 runs.
In the solitary Test meeting between South Africa and Australia at Lord’s, the latter emerged victorious by 10 wickets back in 1912.
Here are all the head-to-head records and stats ahead of the WTC 2025 Final:
SA vs AUS head-to-head record in Tests
Matches played: 101
South Africa won: 26
Australia won: 54
Drawn: 21
Last result: Draw (Sydney; January 2023)
Last five results: SA won – 2; AUS won – 2; Draw – 1
South Africa Test record at Lord’s
Matches played: 18
Won: 6
Lost: 8
Drawn: 4
Last result: Beat England by an innings & 12 runs (August 2022)
Last five results: Won – 3; Lost – 1; Draw – 1
Australia Test record at Lord’s
Matches played: 40
Won: 18
Lost: 7
Drawn: 15
Last result: Beat England by 43 runs (June 2023)
Last five results: Won – 3; Lost – 1; Draw – 1
Highest and lowest scores in SA vs AUS Tests
SA highest score: 651 all out in 154.3 overs (Cape Town; Mar. 2009)
SA lowest score: 36 all out in 23.2 overs (Melbourne; Feb. 1932)
AUS highest score: 652/7d in 146 overs (Johannesburg; Feb. 2022)
AUS lowest score: 47 all out in 18 overs (Cape Town; Nov. 2011)
Best individual performances in SA vs AUS Tests
SA highest individual score: 274 by Graeme Pollock (Durban; Feb. 1970)
SA best bowling figures: 7/23 by Hugh Tayfield (Durban; Jan. 1950)
AUS highest individual score: 299* by Donald Bradman (Adelaide; Jan. 1932)
AUS best bowling figures: 8/61 by Mitchell Johnson (WACA; Dec. 2008)
Most runs in SA vs AUS Tests
| Batter | Inns. | Runs | Avg. | Best | 100s/50s |
| Ricky Ponting (AUS) | 48 | 2132 | 47.37 | 143* | 8/11 |
| AB de Villiers (SA) | 45 | 2068 | 51.70 | 169 | 6/13 |
| Jacques Kallis (SA) | 53 | 1978 | 40.36 | 147 | 5/10 |
Most wickets in SA vs AUS Tests
| Bowler | Inns. | Wkts. | Avg. | BBI | BBM |
| Shane Warne (AUS) | 45 | 130 | 24.16 | 7/56 | 12/128 |
| Clarrie Grimmett (AUS) | 18 | 77 | 15.57 | 7/40 | 14/199 |
| Dale Steyn (SA) | 28 | 70 | 27.47 | 5/67 | 10/154 |
