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The national anthems are ringing out and after South Africa won the toss they might have just taken an early 2-0 lead.
Ali Martin will be at Lord’s across what we hope is five days of tight and tense Test cricket, and has already set out perfectly just what is at stake.
Individual series wins can still sparkle in isolation and to know the best Test team in the world at any point in time, there are rankings available (rankings that currently have Australia in first ahead of England). Instead, its final is about the jeopardy of a one-off shot at silverware, the agony and the ecstasy of high-stakes cricket, and, perhaps more importantly, the journey that saw nine teams whittled down to two.
World Cups have not been kind to South Africa men and women in either of the white-ball formats. The players and fans alike will be desperate for a change of fortune with a red ball this time in hand.
Dan Gallan has experienced the occasional highs and all too many lows with South Africa cricket teams, but can’t help but hope that the WTC final might be the time when they finally shake the “chokers” tag.
The Proteas choking when it matters most is a tale as old as the country itself. Longer, in fact, if you consider that Nelson Mandela was elected president two years after this story began. And throughout it all, one antagonist has loomed largest. Australia have swung the axe on multiple occasions, as they did in 1999, 2007 and 2023.
Seeing Marnus Labuschagne walk out to open the innings alongside Usman Khawaja will feel off-kilter, but should be just another step in a strange scenario for Australia cricket fans watching from afar, as Geoff Lemon appreciates even while in London.
The players are excited, the press attentive and the audience has committed. The Test decider is vindicated further each time it is played. It may be a strange time of year for an Antipodean, and a strange tournament structure for anybody involved. But the important thing now is the game: jumpers on, caps fitted, seats taken, rain cursed, sunshine welcomed. Channel changed. The footy can wait a week.
We’ll find out in little more than 15 minutes how Marnus Labuschagne goes as a Test opener after he was preferred to partner Usman Khawaja in place of the likes of Sam Konstas. Shane (not that one) believes it is just doubling down on another mis-step from the Australia selectors.
“Just constantly amazed by the selectors decisions, they are so reactive and short sighted. I loved the Boxing Day highlights, but Konstas should never have been given a baggy green, wasn’t ready. But if you do select a 19-year-old, stand by the decision and support him, give him a chance to succeed. Now they take a bloke that has underperformed for years at No 3 and think the solution is to put him as opener?”
Simon Reader has been in touch with a reminder that South Africa are up against it at Lord’s though perhaps found an early win with the toss falling their way.
“By my count the Proteas are fielding three players who featured in Temba Bavuma’s last outing at Lords (2017)? That saw Rabada at his finest … BMT at Lords is always a tough grasp … with the Proteas already notorious for absence here, this is going to be a tough ask.”
“We’re happy to bat first, looks like a pretty good wicket and that it might turn later in the match,” Australia captain Pat Cummins tells Ravi Shastri.
South Africa win the toss, bowl first
The coin flip falls Temba Bavuma’s way and the South Africa captain elects to field first in the World Test Championship final at Lord’s.
The forecast in London is for a hint of cloud to hang around for the first session before the sun breaks through in the afternoon and takes the temperature to a relatively balmy 24 degrees. That might not be a bad toss to lose if only Australia can hold firm until lunch.
Temba Bavuma has taken a wonderful and winding path to the WTC final after being the first black South African to be selected as a Test batter in 2017 and then breaking more new ground when named captain six years later. The South Africa skipper also spoke with Donald McRae.
Can you imagine taking a child from the township into a system where, basically, everything is there. There were always doubts. Am I good enough to be here? Do I deserve this opportunity? I always felt the need to prove myself.
Pat Cummins will lead Australia into a second successive WTC final as he returns to Lord’s for a first Test at the venue since a certain dismissal during the last Ashes series largely divided opinion down national lines. The Australia skipper caught up with Donald McRae to talk about making his Test debut in South Africa, taking on the captaincy, and facing the Proteas again with a world title on the line.
There was a lot of trepidation. One, because I was uncertain how I was going to go as a captain. I didn’t really have any experience. But also trepidation because it’s a big role and things can turn against you overnight. Part of me thought: ‘Maybe captaincy isn’t for me.’ But there’re enough great parts of the job I really enjoy.
The World Test Championship mace is up for grabs for just the third time with Australia out to become the first side to defend their crown. But there is also a deep pool of prize money waiting for both finalists, though much of the spoils will of course go to the winner at Lord’s.
The champions will walk away with a cool USD $3.6m (more than double the $1.6m that was awarded to the winners in both 2021 and 2023), while the runners-up will pocket USD $2.16m.
If you need a primer or just some background on what to expect in the first WTC final at Lord’s, I’ve penned a few words to help set the scene. Take in all you need to know about the recent history for both teams at the iconic venue, why Australia landed on their eventual XI, and how South Africa found a back road through the two-year cycle to Lord’s – and what they can do to make the most of their somewhat surprising appearance.
South Africa XI
Ryan Rickleton, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Tristan Stubbs, Temba Bavuma (capt), David Bedingham, Kyle Verreynne (wk), Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi.
South Africa stick with a more familiar lineup as all-rounder Wiaan Mulder returns to first drop after being trialled there against Sri Lanka and Pakistan around the turn of the year. Lungi Ngidi is backed to bring his experience to the pace attack alongside Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen with Dane Paterson the unlucky quick to miss out.
Australia XI
Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Cameron Green, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Beau Webster, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (capt), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood.
It has been hinted at for weeks, if not months, but even after being confirmed with the Australia team news dropping overnight, it still looks out of place – Marnus Labuschagne will open in a Test for the first time.
Cameron Green slots back in at No 3 for his first Test in more than a year after undergoing back surgery that ruled him out of the entire Australian summer. The all-rounder is not yet able to bowl but is being backed to bat in the prime position after a successful stint with Gloucestershire that includes a pair of tons in his two most recent County Championship matches.
Australia’s other selection dilemma was around the pace attack where the fit-again Josh Hazlewood is preferred to Scott Boland, in a reversal of fortunes compared to the WTC final against India two years ago.
Preamble
Martin Pegan
Hello and welcome to live coverage of the first day of the World Test Championship final between Australia and South Africa.
The ICC’s red-ball showcase might still be some distance short of becoming the pinnacle of the format but the hype will be real once Australia and South Africa step onto Lord’s to renew their one-time fierce rivalry. Australia are out to become the first side to retain the title (which, admittedly, will only be awarded for the third time), while South Africa have more than just silverware – in this case, the WTC mace – on the line after three decades of pain and suffering at the pointy end of global cricket tournaments.
South Africa secured their place in the decider – somewhat surprisingly – as the No 1 side across the two-year WTC cycle. The Proteas arguably made the most of a friendly fixture as they avoided crossing paths with the defending champions, as well as England, and only faced two-time runners-up India in a tied home series. But they could now respond to the critics of their path to the final in the most satisfying way.
South Africa have in fact only met their old foes Australia in a single Test series – for three matches away in 2022-23 – in the past seven years, in one of all too many signs of the ever-widening divide that now exists between cricket’s “Big Three” and the remainder of the Test-playing nations. But the winner-takes-all WTC final at Lord’s feels like neither the time nor the place to be laying out all that has gone wrong with the purists’ preferred format, especially with play due to start in an hour.
First ball will be at 10.30am local time or 7.30pm AEST / 11.30am SAST. The toss will take place 30 minutes before that. I’ll be seeing us through to drinks in the second session, when the tone will inevitably shift as self-confessed South Africa tragic, Dan Gallan, takes the reins.
Get in touch with any comments, questions, thoughts and predictions – shoot me an email or find me @martinpegan on Bluesky or X. Let’s get into it!
