WTC Final: ‘Unbeaten’ Bavuma breaks Hazlewood’s ‘finals streak’ as Proteas end ICC trophy drought

One of the two unbeaten streaks was always supposed to end with the conclusion of the WTC Final 2025 between South Africa and Australia. The one-off contest at the Mecca of Cricket, Lord’s, saw one prevailing over the other as South African captain Temba Bavuma stood tall with his ‘unbeaten streak’.

What was the streak?

For the fun factor, and perhaps more significantly, in this game’s context, either Bavuma or Josh Hazlewood had to concede their respective winning streaks; however, with South Africa beating Australia for their maiden WTC crown by five wickets, Temba had the last laugh.

South African captain Bavuma has won all the Tests he has captained - nine in total to date, starting from 2023. Although the Proteas had lost a few Tests during this window, Bavuma was not the team captain in any of them.

On the other hand, Hazlewood had a unique ‘unbeaten finals streak’ to his name before this game, having won all finals he participated in, including winning this year’s IPL with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) – also their maiden title. However, with Australia losing their fourth ICC final across formats (to date), his streak is now over.

Here is the list of captains with the most Test wins in their first 10 matches –

• 9 - Percy Chapman (1926-30)
• 9 - Temba Bavuma (2023-25)
• 8 - Johnny Douglas (1911-14)
• 8 - Warwick Armstrong (1920-21)
• 8 - Lindsay Hassett (1949-51)
• 8 - Waqar Younis (1993-02)
• 8 - Ricky Ponting (2004-05)
• 8 - Ben Stokes (2020-22)

‘Need a bit of luck’ – Markram

While chasing 282, Markram stood out for the Proteas, scoring a match-winning 136 in the fourth innings, with Bavuma hitting an excellent 66. The pair stitched a 157-run stand for the third wicket, laying the foundation of a historic five-wicket win in the WTC Final.

Speaking on his performance, the Player of the Final said, “Weird how things work out if you get a duck in the first innings and you come into the second innings with quite a few concerns.

“Ultimately, you need a bit of luck here and there and spend some time in the middle and find some runs. I'm just really grateful it worked out nicely. Lord's is the place every Test cricketer wants to play.

“Playing a final here is incredibly special with all the members there, but also plenty of South African fans that made the trip and plenty at home as well that have supported us through it. It was one of the most special days,” he said.