After a 27-year wait for a men’s world championship, South Africa’s historic ICC World Test Championship (WTC) victory at Lord’s has made the entire country happy and proud.
After years of heartbreak in ICC tournaments, the Proteas finally broke the jinx by defeating Australia in the WTC Final 2025 by five wickets last week at the iconic Lord’s Cricket Ground.
After almost three decades of heartbreaking defeats, including the 2024 T20 World Cup final, supporters have cause to expect that the South Africa National Cricket Team can finally move past the reputation of “chokers” and strive for more reliable results in ICC competitions.
Too large and unique for every South African: AB de Villiers on winning the ICC World Test Championship
But according to South African icon AB de Villiers, the work is far from done. The former captain believes Test cricket still requires more focus and improved scheduling in order to develop in South Africa, even after the historic victory.
“It is time to start believing that we can achieve this more often,” AB de Villiers stated on the BBC World Service’s Stumped podcast.
We will not lose [this moment]. For many South Africans, it was too significant and too unique; it was a memorable Test match. However, to a certain degree, action must be taken.
Following the WTC victory at Lord’s, AB de Villiers calls for more ambitious Test ambitions for South Africa.
The present schedule indicates that the Proteas team will only play four Test matches in the next 16 months: two against Zimbabwe, who are not even eligible for the 2025–2027 cycle of the new ICC World Test Championship, and two more in India later this year.
The Proteas will not play a Test match at home until October 2026, when they take on the Australians once more, which is even more surprising. De Villiers has always believed that in order for any Test-playing country to be strong and equitable, they must receive enough matches on a regular basis.
The WTC’s calendar for the upcoming cycle has improved, according to AB de Villiers, but he added, “I still feel there is work that has to be done there simply to make it as equitable and consistent as feasible for every country that participates in the Test.”
AB de Villiers suggests “four-year cycle” for WTC
De Villiers also demanded that the structure of the WTC be altered. In order to make it more equitable and well-planned, he proposed extending the cycle by four years. In the future, he aspires to see more Test matches for South Africa.
De Villiers is confident that the South African supporters will remember this significant victory and eagerly await the team’s upcoming Test match, despite the fact that it is a long way off.
“Perhaps a four-year cycle would be ideal,” he concluded. Why not in Test cricket like we have done with one-day internationals? In addition to making logic, it would buy the organizers a great deal more time to develop a truly equitable and well-balanced system.
