Australia favourites to retain WTC crown against South Africa
Cricket
Australia have been warming up with training sessions at Beckenham in Kent
LONDON (Reuters) - Australia will have to dust off the cobwebs but are still fancied to successfully defend their World Test Championship crown against equally ring-rusty South Africa in the final at Lord’s, starting on Wednesday.
The five-day clash comes on the heels of a plethora of limited overs cricket over the last five months and both teams have been scrambling to prepare for a high-profile return to the red-ball game.
Australia have not played a test since beating Sri Lanka in Galle in February when they made sure of a top-two finish in the standings from results for the 2023-25 WTC cycle.
South Africa were assured of top place when they won their last test against Pakistan at home in January to book a first-ever finals appearance.
It came on the back of a run of seven successive wins, but the fact they did not play against the Aussies or England has seen their achievement dismissed as too easy.
Former England captain Michael Vaughan said they reached the final "on the back of beating pretty much nobody," which was a result of the lopsided test schedule where Australia, England, and India dominate and South Africa elect to play more financially lucrative limited-overs internationals. But an upset win for South Africa could change that.
"It's the biggest thing in this team's existence. It's the biggest thing for South African cricket at the moment,” said their coach Shukri Conrad.
SELECTION CHOICES
Australia have been warming up with training sessions at Beckenham in Kent as they grapple with selection choices.
They must pick between Scott Boland or Josh Hazlewood to join skipper Pat Cummins, left-armer Mitchell Starc and spinner Nathan Lyon in the attack'
The top batting order is likely to be changed with Cameron Green set to return for his first test in more than a year. He will likely bat third with Marnus Labuschagne opening alongside Usman Khawaja, while Steve Smith will come in at No. 4.
South Africa’s planned four-day warm-up scrimmage with Zimbabwe at Arundel last week was largely washed out but did hint at Wiaan Mulder moving up the order to No.3 in a batting lineup that has been inconsistent over the last two years.
Their hopes rest instead on a fiery bowling attack where Kagiso Rabada features after serving a one-month ban for recreational drug use.
Australia won the last WTC final by beating India at The Oval two years ago. New Zealand were the inaugural winners in 2021.
VENUE
Lord’s in London, widely referred to as the ‘home of cricket’, hosts the final from June 11-15 with play starting at 10.30 local time (0930 GMT).
June 16 has been reserved as an additional day if there are any weather delays
AUSTRALIA
Test ranking: 1
Captain: Pat Cummins
Coach: Andrew McDonald
Highest ranked batsman: Steve Smith (5)
Highest ranked bowler: Pat Cummins (3)
Squad: Cummins (captain), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Matt Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Smith, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster
SOUTH AFRICA
Test ranking: 3
Captain: Temba Bavuma
Coach: Shukri Conrad
Highest ranked batsman in squad: Aiden Markram (18)
Highest ranked bowler: Kagiso Rabada (2)
Squad: Bavuma (captain), David Bedingham, Corbin Bosch, Tony de Zorzi, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Senuran Muthusamy, Lungi Ngidi, Dane Paterson, Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs, Kyle Verreynne.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
Test matches played: 101
Australia wins: 54
South Africa wins: 26
Draws: 21
Tied: 0
LAST FIVE TESTS
Jan 2023: Match drawn in Sydney
Dec 2022: Australia won by an innings and 182 runs in Melbourne
Dec 2022: Australia won by six wickets in Brisbane
March 2018: South Africa won by 492 runs in Johannesburg
March 2018: South Africa won by 322 runs in Cape Town
AUSTRALIA’S LAST FIVE TEST RESULTS
Feb 2025 (away): Beat Sri Lanka by nine wickets
Jan 2025 (away): Beat Sri Lanka by an innings and 242 runs
Jan 2025 (home): Beat India by six wickets
Dec 2024 (home): Beat India by 184 runs
Dec 2024 (home): Match drawn against India
SOUTH AFRICA’S LAST FIVE TEST RESULTS
Jan 2025 (home): Beat Pakistan by 10 wickets
Dec 2024 (home): Beat Pakistan by two wickets
Dec 2024 (home): Beat Sri Lanka by 109 runs
Nov 2024 (home): Beat Sri Lanka by 233 runs
Oct 2024 (away): Beat Bangladesh by an innings and 273 runs
