Two days after making history by defeating Australia, South Africa’s triumphant ICC World Test Championship squad returned to Lord’s on Monday to continue their celebrations. The entire 15-player squad, along with the famous mace, gathered at the Home of Cricket to commemorate their five-wicket victory over Australia in the World Test Championship Final. This marked South Africa’s first win in an ICC tournament in 28 years. A fantastic #WTC25 Final at Lord’s with the @proteasmencsa lifting the mace on day four after defeating the defending champions @ausmencricket pic.twitter.com/NCMndTlWne — ICC (@ICC) June 16, 2025 View this post on Instagram A post shared by ICC (@icc) View this post on Instagram A post shared by ICC (@icc) View this post on Instagram A post shared by ICC (@icc) As reported by the ICC website, the players and support staff were in high spirits as they took one final look at Lord’s before heading back to South Africa. All-rounder Wiaan Mulder described the celebrations as spirited. “It’s been a very, very good couple of days. Celebrations like I haven’t had before, so as a team I think we’re super chuffed and no better place to do it than at the Home of Cricket,” Mulder was quoted as saying by ICC Digital at Lord’s. Mulder admitted he had barely slept since arriving in London due to the nerves leading up to the Ultimate Test and the post-match celebrations taking their toll. Although the entire squad and support staff participated in the festivities, Mulder noted that players from Western Province led the way. “I think it’s the Western Province crew, to be honest,” Mulder said when asked who had been the best celebrators. “All of them celebrate victory very, very hard. Kyle Verreynne, Dane Paterson, David Bedingham and (batting coach) Ashwell Prince are kind of the leaders of our vibe team, so they have been the guys that have gone all out.” Mulder mentioned that he had received numerous messages of support from family and friends back in South Africa, and he had even spoken with Australian batter Travis Head, his teammate along with Pat Cummins at IPL side Sunrisers Hyderabad, after the victory. “I actually spoke to him (Head) last night on the phone,” Mulder said. “He was chuffed for the way it went for us. “Obviously, he was broken that they didn’t win, but I think overall, the spirit of the game was really as high or as good as it could be. “You think about the Aussies, you always think about them as being a little bit nasty at times, but I think these guys are true champions. “And the way they go about it, the consistency that they bring to every single day and every single moment of the game, just shows why they’re arguably the best team, best sporting cricketing team to ever play the game,” Mulder told the ICC. (With inputs from IANS)