South Africa beat Australia by five wickets in the final at Lord’s to win the World Test Championship. Here are the team ratings for the finalists from both sides.
South Africa marks out of 10
Temba Bavuma (36, 66): 9/10
Every run of Bavuma’s second-innings classic was worth its weight in gold, more so because he batted with a pulled muscle. However, the first-innings show was crucial as well, for it lifted South Africa from 30-4 to 138. Yet to lose a Test match as captain, Bavuma will be part of South African cricket’s folklore in the years to come.
Aiden Markram (1-5, 0, 1-5, 136): 9.5/10
South Africa have been playing Test cricket since the late 1880s, but there have been very few innings over this long stretch to match Markram’s fourth-innings epic. He also took out Steve Smith in the first innings and ended the pesky last-wicket stand in the second, and held a brilliant catch in the first hour of the Test.
Ryan Rickelton (16, 6): 3/10
Two innings, two balls from Mitchell Starc, two shots outside the off-stump, two edges. More was expected of Rickelton.
Wiaan Mulder (0-36, 6, 1-18, 27): 5/10
Mulder left his mark in the Test. In the third innings, he bowled a peach to run through Travis Head’s defence. In the second, he came at 9-1 and weathered the initial storm.
Tristan Stubbs (2, 8): 2/10
A forgettable Test for the gifted Stubbs. His time will come.
David Bedingham (45, 21*): 7/10
Bedingham’s was not the main act in this historic triumph, but his two cameos played their part in preventing the Australians from running through South Africa.
Kyle Verreynne (13, 4*, 4 catches): 4/10
Verreynne did his bit: he helped Bedingham put on 32 in the first innings and kept wicket soundly (and hit the winning runs!).
Marco Jansen (3-49, 0, 1-58): 6/10
An excellent foil to Kagiso Rabada, Jansen finished with three top-order wickets (including Marnus Labuschagne twice). That should make up for the first-innings duck.
Keshav Maharaj (1-19, 7, 0-17): 4/10
There was little for Maharaj to do on the surface, and he bowled only 12 overs.
Kagiso Rabada (5-51, 1, 4-59): 9.5/10
The first two-and-a-bit sessions were all about Rabada, who followed the two early wickets with a comprehensive cleanup of the tail. Then came two more early strikes, followed by another double-strike. There was hardly a phase when Rabada did not seem threatening.
Lungi Ngidi (0-45, 0*, 3-38): 5/10
Ngidi’s radarless show in the first innings raised questions over his selection. He responded to his critics in style in the second with a triple-blow, including the wicket of Smith.
Australia marks out of 10
Pat Cummins (1, 6-28, 6, 1-59): 8/10
Cummins scythed through the South Africans in the first innings to go past Jasprit Bumrah and finish as the leading wicket-taker of the 2023-2025 WTC. His spell earned South Africa a 74-run lead. He also got Bavuma on the fourth morning to keep Australia alive... but that was about it.
Usman Khawaja (0, 6): 1/10
After struggling against Bumrah in the home summer, Khawaja fell twice to Rabada here. At 38, time may be running out for him.
Marnus Labuschagne (17, 22): 3.5/10
Batting at the top for the first time, Labuschagne hung on without leaving a mark in the Test. Gets half a point for the catch of Bavuma.
Cameron Green (4, 0): 1/10
In both innings, Green got out in the over he walked out to bat. A forgettable Test for him.
Steve Smith (66, 13): 6/10
Smith’s neat 66 lifted Australia from 67-4 in the first innings, but his innings was cut short in the second innings.
Travis Head (11, 9, 0-8): 2/10
The hero of the 2021-2023 final had two ordinary stints at the crease.
Beau Webster (72, 0-20, 9, 0-13): 6/10
The other half of the partnership that rescued Australia in the first innings, though his innings was a fortuitous, scratchy effort. Got an excellent ball in the second innings. His bowling was insipid.
Alex Carey (23, 43, 3 catches): 5/10
After the first-innings cameo, Carey made 43 in the second to help Australia set a reasonable target to defend. Loses half a point for the dropped catch.
Mitchell Starc (1, 2-41, 58*, 3-66): 8.5/10
It was Starc’s double strike that made early inroads in the first innings. It was his fifty that kept Australia in the hunt for so long. And then, he took three of South Africa’s five fourth-innings wickets.
Nathan Lyon (0, 0-12, 2, 0-66): 3/10
Picked ahead of Scott Boland on a surface that offered little to spinners, Lyon bowled decently in the fourth innings without luck. On another day he might have broken through.
Josh Hazlewood (1*, 1-27, 17, 1-58): 4/10
Incisive and threatening, Hazlewood had only two wickets to show against his name, but gets a point for that pesky 17 where he helped Starc put on 59 for the last wicket.
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