World Test Championship | Pakistan

South Africa captain Aiden Markram says his side can expect to have a target on their back when they begin a new cycle of the World Test Championship as defending champions. South Africa play a two-test series in Pakistan, starting on Sunday, and two games in India in November as they bid to retain the trophy they won in June by beating Australia by five wickets at Lord’s. The World Test Championship is decided at the end of a two-year cycle, with the top two teams competing in a one-off five-day match. “I suppose you create a bit of a target on your back if youve won (the WTC), and if thats the case, its fair. We want to chase a place in the final again and lift that trophy once again but realise each team will be coming for us,” said Markram, who stands in as skipper for Temba Bavuma who has been ruled out of the tour with a calf strain. “We, as a team, have to keep getting better and improving and playing well in all different types of conditions. It starts for us in Pakistan, and its a challenge the boys ...

South Africa won the World Test Championship on Saturday, completing a remarkable turnaround to beat Australia by five wickets as they successfully chased down an imposing 282-run target. But it was an edgy finish as they took 27.4 overs to slowly score the 69 runs needed to secure success on the fourth day at Lord’s after resuming at 213-2 overnight. In so doing, South Africa completed a successful pursuit of the joint second-highest winning fourth-innings total in test history at the London venue. It was a first major cricket triumph for South Africa, who had earned an unwanted reputation for failure when on the cusp of victory over the last decades in limited overs competitions. This was their first appearance in the WTC final, with opener Aiden Markram delivering a heroic innings of 136 to ensure success. Markram, who reached his century late in the third day, added 34 more runs on Saturday, accumulating carefully before falling to a sharp catch by Travis Head with six runs needed to win. Kyle Verreynne h...