A look back at the top five Aussie wins as Pat Cummins' side prepare to defend their title at Lord's
'It was huge': Australia's best wins of the 2023-25 WTC campaign
Australia are heading back to London to defend their World Test Championship crown after a dominant two-year campaign where they didn't lose a series.
Along the way there were some epic and hard-fought victories, as well as several nail-biting losses (but who wants to hear about those…).
The Aussie campaign started with the lively 2023 Ashes that finished in a 2-2 draw and ended with series victories over India, to win the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for the first time in a decade, and Sri Lanka, in what was Australia's first series triumph in the island nation in 14 years.
We've gone back through all 19 matches to come up with the top five Aussie wins from the 2023-25 WTC cycle.
5. Lord's, 2023 (beat England by 43 runs)
A Test that will be long remembered for its many flashpoints as well as the countless ebbs and flows throughout the five days. Ben Stokes threatened to repeat his Headingley heroics from four years earlier with an epic 155 before Josh Hazlewood grabbed two wickets in two overs to see Australia to a tense 43-run victory.
Alex Carey had earlier sent the Lord's crowd into a frenzy with his long-range stumping of Jonny Bairstow off Cameron Green, while Green was previously denied the wicket of Ben Duckett on day four when the third umpire deemed Mitchell Starc had grounded the ball while taking a catch at fine leg. Two Marylebone Cricket Club members were handed lengthy suspensions and another banned for life after a confrontation with Aussie players at lunch on day five.
Steve Smith set up the Aussie win with a century in the first innings and Nathan Lyon was part of a vital 15-run stand for the final wicket in the second despite barely being able to walk after suffering a series-ending calf injury while fielding on day two.
4. Adelaide Oval, 2024 (beat India by 10 wickets)
After going down by almost 300 runs in Perth in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series opener, Australia bounced back in style to thump India by 10 wickets in the second Test in Adelaide. Mitchell Starc pinned Perth century-maker Yashasvi Jaiswal first ball of the match and had the pink ball on a string with 6-48 to roll the visitors for 180. Hometown hero Travis Head then peeled off 140 – his third century at Adelaide Oval – to give Australia a 157-run lead.
Ravichandran Ashwin took a wicket in what would be his last Test before announcing his retirement in Brisbane when he wasn't selected. Pat Cummins led the way for the Aussies in the second innings as India were bowled out cheaply for the second time with no batters passing 50 for the match. Nathan McSweeney and Usman Khawaja then knocked off the 19 required for victory in 3.2 overs to square the series 1-1.
3. Christchurch, 2024 (beat New Zealand by three wickets)
Australia won the first Test in Wellington comfortably after Cameron Green's epic 174 not out but found the going tougher at Hagley Oval in Christchurch when Matt Henry took 7-67 and Tom Latham, Kane Williamson, Rachin Ravindra and Daryl Mitchell each hit fifties in the second innings to set Australia a tricky chase of 279. And when Henry and Ben Sears each struck twice to reduce the visitors to 4-34, it didn't look like they would even get close.
The momentum shifted continuously on the fourth day as Mitch Marsh and Alex Carey's 140-run partnership gave Australia the advantage before Sears picked up another two wickets in as many balls to remove the allrounder and Mitchell Starc to wrestle back the upper hand. Ice cool Aussie skipper Pat Cummins (32no) put the result beyond doubt with a flurry of boundaries, bringing up the winning runs with sweetly struck back foot drive off Sears to claim the series 2-0 as Carey finished unbeaten on 98 at the other end.
2. Edgbaston, 2023 (beat England by two wickets)
The Ashes could not have started any better with a nail-biter at Edgbaston as Pat Cummins (44no) again got Australia over the line with willow in hand. The 'Bazball' hype lived up to its billing as Zak Crawley slapped the first ball of the series to the cover boundary and England amassed 393 in 78 overs on the opening day. But Ben Stokes' aggressive declaration gave Australia a sniff and after an early wobble, opener Usman Khawaja peeled off a breakthrough century in England to lead the recovery from 3-67 to keep his side within seven runs after the first innings.
Cummins and Nathan Lyon each took four wickets to restrict England to 273 to leave Australia 281 for victory. Khawaja was the main man again in the second innings with 65 up top, describing the Test as his "favourite match ever" in the aftermath of Australia's two-wicket victory. Contributions from the middle order and nightwatchman Scott Boland (20) helped edge the Aussies closer but they still needed 53 runs to win when No.10 Lyon joined Cummins in the middle on day five. The skipper took the long handle to part-timer Joe Root and, as the pressure mounted, Harry Brook knocked the winning boundary over the rope at deep third to spark jubilant celebrations on the Aussie balcony and from their supporters below them.
1. MCG, 2024 (beat India by 184 runs)
A record-breaking MCG crowd were treated to a pulsating five days befitting of its status as one of the biggest Test on the calendar. While the final margin doesn't do it justice, all four results were still in play heading into day five as 74,362 fans flocked through the gates to watch it unfold. The total attendance of 373,691 was the second largest crowd of all-time and a record for a Test match in Australia, beating an 87-year-old mark set during Don Bradman's prime.
Sam Konstas electrified the 87,242 in the stands on day one with a bold display of ramp shots to knock the world's No.1 bowler Jasprit Bumrah off his line, with the debutant even ruffling the feathers of Virat Kohli during his opening knock of 60. All of Australia's top four passed 50 with Steve Smith kicking on to 140. Nitish Kumar Reddy's maiden Test century and Washington Sundar (50) kept India in it with a 127-run eighth-wicket stand before Bumrah took 5-57 to knock the hosts over for 234 and set up a thrilling final day.
Set 340 to win, the visitors were in the hunt with Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rishabh Pant at the crease, but a brain fade from the Indian wicketkeeper saw him pick out deep mid-on off the occasional spin of Travis Head, opening the door for Australia. Scott Boland, Nathan Lyon and Pat Cummins steamrolled through the middle- to lower-order from there, the final wicket coming midway through the final session of day five to give the Aussies a 2-1 series lead heading to Sydney.
Cummins had previously regarded the Edgbaston win in 2023 as his best ever, but said post-match this epic five-day Boxing Day Test triumph was his new favourite. "I think that was the best Test match I've been involved in, in terms of 80-odd thousand on the first three days and (74,000) today, it was huge," he said. "It felt like it swung a lot as well, it never felt like we were so far ahead in the game that a win looked certain. Overall, just one of those great wins."
World Test Championship Final
June 11-15: South Africa v Australia, Lord's
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Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Matt Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster. Travelling reserve: Brendan Doggett
South Africa squad: Temba Bavuma (c), David Bedingham, Corbin Bosch, Tony de Zorzi, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Senuran Muthusamy, Lungi Ngidi, Dane Paterson, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs, Kyle Verreynne