Australia captain Pat Cummins said his side had been faced with a "bridge too far" after losing the World Test Championship final to South Africa at Lord's on Saturday.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Cummins' men, the reigning title-holders, were strongly fancied to defeat a South Africa side with few star names.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
But they suffered a five-wicket defeat as South Africa, with opener Aiden Markram making a superb 136 and skipper Temba Bavuma 66, chased down a target of 282 before lunch on the fourth day.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Australia led by 74 runs on first innings but could never completely pull clear of the Proteas, with South Africa fast bowler Kagiso Rabada returning excellent match figures of 9-110.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"Things can change pretty quickly," said Cummins at the post-match presentation ceremony. "Unfortunately, it was a bridge too far."<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Steve Smith's first-innings 66 was the only score of fifty or more in the match by a specialist Australia batsman.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Smith, however, suffered a dislocated finger while dropping a slip catch and is now doubtful for the first Test against the West Indies in Barbados on June 25.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Australia, now at the start of a new WTC cycle, may have to review their batting options more broadly, with Marnus Labuschagne who averaged a lowly 25.63 in Tests during the 2024\/25 season, out for 17 and 22 at Lord's after being promoted to open the innings.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"We've got a couple of weeks before the first Test in the Windies, so we'll sit down and have a bit of a think," said Cummins.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
- 'Deserved champions' -<\/p>\r\n\r\n
South Africa had the best batting conditions of the match in their second innings but they still had a job to do in recording the second-highest successful run chase to win a Test at Lord's, behind the West Indies' 344-1, requiring 342, against England in 1984.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"They (South Africa) were fantastic in that fourth innings," said fast bowler Cummins. "There wasn't a lot in the wicket but they didn't give us a chance."<\/p>\r\n\r\n
This match was the culmination of the third edition of the WTC with New Zealand the inaugural 2021 champions and Australia triumphant in 2023, with India twice the losing finalists.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
But the format of the competition has faced fierce criticism, with countries free to decide how many Tests they want to play in the two-year qualifying cycle and positions calculated based on the percentage of available points won.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
South Africa played just 12 Tests in the recent cycle, with none of those games against England or Australia, who won 13 out of 19 matches to reach the final.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
But a gracious Cummins said of South Africa: "They showed why they're in this final and are deserved champions."<\/p>\r\n\r\n
As for the format, he jokingly added: "I preferred it at the Oval last time (when Australia beat India in 2023)."<\/p>\r\n\r\n