South Africa will be chasing history when they take on Australia in the final of the World Test Championship (WTC) final at the Lord’s on Wednesday. Led by Temba Bavuma, South Africa are playing their maiden WTC final while Australia are the defending champions, having beaten India by 207 runs in the 2023 final at the same Lord’s.
One of the biggest drawbacks for South Africa is the lack of experience in their squad. Kagiso Rabada and Bavuma are the most experienced South African players in the squad with 70 and 50 Test caps respectively. As far as Australia are concerned, the trio of Mitchell Starc, Cummins, and Josh Hazlewood have tasted success at this level before and would want to add another feather to their cap with their careers into twilight.
South Africa vs Australia toss report
South African captain Temba Bavuma won the toss and opted to bowl first. Both the teams have already announced their playing XIs a day prior.
South Africa vs Australia playing XIs
Australia: Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Cameron Green, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Beau Webster, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood
South Africa: Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, Wiaan Mulder, Temba Bavuma (c), Tristan Stubbs, David Bedingham, Kyle Verreynne (wk), Marco Jansen, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi
What both captains said before WTC final?
Pat Cummins (Australia): Happy to bat first. Looks like a good wicket with a few clouds. Prep wise it has been unreal, 15 guys working very hard for that title. We have had about 10 days prep and we are ready. Doesn’t feel like any extra pressure. We’ve been here before and we’ve won it. This week is all about enjoying the moment.
Temba Bavuma (South Africa): Will have a bowl first looking at the overhead conditions. Looks like a good pitch. Too late to change the team, we have selected the best combination. All 15 of us are confident. We all have had some allegiance to Lord’s, the emotion will hit us when the anthems stat playing. It is a massive final.
AUS vs SA, WTC 2025 final pitch report
The weather looks overcast with a subtle breeze flowing at Lord’s. The wicket looks good, especially the Day 2 will be great for batters. The key for the bowlers to succeed would be to get their lines right for early movement.