ICC WTC 2023-25 Most Runs, Wickets, 100s, And 5-Wicket Hauls: History has been made as South Africa clinched the biggest prize in Test cricket in the modern age: the ICC World Test Championship mace. Temba Bavuma’s team is now the world Test champions.
And they did it in the most critic-shutting fashion by beating the defending champions and favourites, Pat Cummins’ Australia, and the home of cricket, Lord’s. That too after having conceded a 74-run first-innings deficit.
South Africa, who had sent a second-string or third-string side to New Zealand at the start of this cycle and were cleaned 2-0 there after having drawn 1-1 to India at home, won seven matches in a row to enter the 2023-25 ICC WTC Final. They were given a favour by New Zealand and Australia, both of whom defeated India in Test series.
There were doubters and critics of the WTC format and the path South Africa had gone through to reach the WTC Final: they played Test series of two Test matches and neither played India, England, or Australia in this cycle.
Bavuma’s team not only fought against Australia at Lord’s. They fought against the history of South Africa failing at crucial junctures in ICC tournaments; their freshest wound occurred last year when they lost to India in the T20 World Cup final in Barbados despite Klaasen bringing the game into South Africa’s pocket when the death overs began.
By the end of day 2 at Lord’s in the 2025 ICC WTC Final, Australia looked to march onto a victory, which would bring them their second consecutive Test championship mace, further strengthening the legacy of their current core group.
Under overcast conditions and on a pitch that offered seam movement, 28 wickets fell across the first two days, and Australia had a lead of 212 runs with two wickets in hand.
On day 3, though, as if the pitch and the weather had flipped completely, with the surface losing all its juice as the sun shone brightly at the Lord’s.
Although Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood stretched Australia’s lead to 281 with a shocking 10th-wicket stand, it also meant that the conditions had gotten significantly better for batting, and South Africa were alive in the game even as they stared down at the prospect of recording the joint-second-biggest chase at Lord’s in Test cricket.
While they lost Ryan Rickelton early and Wiaan Mulder followed after a gritty 27, South Africa had their two best and most experienced batsmen in the middle: Aiden Markram and Temba Bavuma.
Markram looked so comfortable in the second innings that you could almost forget he got a duck in the first. Bavuma, who suffered a hamstring strain early in his innings, fought the pain and hobbled throughout as he ran with determination and courage.
By stumps on day 3, South Africa hadn’t lost another wicket, Markram was on 102*, Bavuma on 65*, and the Proteas needed only 69 more runs to win their first ICC title since the 1998 ICC Knockout Trophy. On day 4, while Bavuma was dismissed for 66, Markram took his side to the finishing line, ending up with 136, before Kyle Verreynne hit the winning runs.
The 2023-25 ICC WTC cycle was dominated by the bowlers as wickets fell at a rate not seen since the early 18th century!
South Africa Wins WTC Final: Let us look at some of the records in the ICC WTC 2023-25 cycle:
ICC WTC 2023-25 Most Runs:
Joe Root finished the ICC WTC 2023-25 cycle with the most runs (1968 runs), followed by Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ben Duckett.
Most runs in ICC WTC 2023-25 cycle:
- Joe Root – 1968 runs
- Yashasvi Jaiswal – 1798 runs
- Ben Duckett – 1470 runs
- Harry Brook – 1463 runs
- Usman Khawaja – 1428 runs
ICC WTC 2023-25 Most Wickets:
Pat Cummins edged past Jasprit Bumrah in the ICC WTC Final 2025 to top the wickets chart, finishing with 79 scalps, two more than Bumrah.
Most wickets in ICC WTC 2023-25 cycle:
- Pat Cummins – 80 wickets
- Jasprit Bumrah – 77 wickets
- Mitchell Starc – 77 wickets
- Nathan Lyon – 66 wickets
- R Ashwin – 63 wickets
ICC WTC 2023-25 Most Centuries:
Joe Root hit the most centuries in the ICC WTC 2023-25 cycle (7). Kamindu Mendis, Kane Williamson, and Steve Smith all cracked five hundreds in this cycle.
Most centuries in ICC WTC 2023-25 cycle:
- Joe Root – 7
- Kamindu Mendis – 5
- Kane Williamson – 5
- Steve Smith – 5
- Harry Brook and Yashasvi Jaislwal – 4
ICC WTC 2023-25 Most Five-Wicket Hauls:
Pat Cummins claimed six five-wicket hauls in the ICC WTC 2023-25, the most in this cycle. Noman Ali, Bumrah, and Ashwin took five five-fors each.
Most five-wicket hauls in ICC WTC 2023-25 cycle:
- Pat Cummins – 6
- Noman Ali – 5
- Jasprit Bumrah – 5
- R Ashwin – 5
- Ajaz Patel, Kagiso Rabada, Taijul Islam, and Prabath Jayasuriya – 4
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