The last time South Africa won a big cricket prize was in 1998. Since then, they got very close many times but didn’t win, sometimes losing in the semifinals or in the final against India.

This win is very special for South Africa, especially because their most traditional way of playing cricket, called Test cricket, has been having a hard time.

Last year, they had to send a smaller team to New Zealand because some of their best players were busy playing in their country’s popular T20 cricket league.

The team is led by a captain named Temba Bavuma. He hasn’t lost a game as captain in Test cricket yet, after leading ten matches. South Africa won a big cricket trophy for the first time in 27 years! They beat Australia by five wickets in a special game called the World Test Championship final at a famous stadium called Lord’s on Saturday.

The World Test Championship (WTC) is a special tournament that happens every two years. It helps decide which country is the best at the long, traditional form of cricket. The first WTC started in 2019 and finished in 2021, with New Zealand winning. The second one started in 2021 and finished in 2023, with Australia winning.

The third one began in June 2023, and South Africa just won this time! The final match for this tournament will be played at Lord’s in 2025. But South Africa didn’t give up. They started winning more matches and won eight out of their next nine games. This big win at Lord’s is like a reward for all their hard work.