As a cricket player, Temba Bavuma approaches everything with a sense of earnestness. When you listen to him talk at a news conference, it becomes much more apparent. He is measured. He is reflective. He is patient. He is also frequently emotional.
As he discussed the prospect of becoming the first South African captain to guide his nation to a legitimate global championship (despite the 1998 ICC Knockouts), he most definitely didn’t hold back his emotions.
Particularly when he began discussing how his “story” and his team’s “story” included even making it to Lord’s for this significant finals. When discussing South Africa’s chances in the World Test Championship Final, which begins at Lord’s on Wednesday, he must have mentioned the “story” at least a dozen times. It appeared to move him so strongly that it was hard to resist. Even still, a lot of people have questioned his team’s ability to go to the final and their qualifications as a Test team. The inevitable story that has followed their development to this point is, “Who did they beat after all?”
In actuality, they now know who they must defeat in order to silence everyone. a team that has always caused them trouble in important games. When the stakes are high, they are consistently defeated by this team.
Not to mention their own well-known problems with knockout games and finals across the decades and eras. There’s more, though. There would be more at stake than Bavuma and his side finishing their story if the South Africans weren’t bringing the weight and burden of their own heritage and history into the final matchup with Australia.
There’s a larger story going on. In many respects, South Africa will also be speaking up for the other Test countries that, like them, find it difficult to meet the financial requirements of hosting and playing the old format. An interesting discussion about what would happen to teams that are “not as economically strong as the other nations” could be sparked by a South African victory here. More significantly, this is happening at a time when future plans are being discussed in terms of potential divisions as well as the needs of certain countries.
Bavuma and his players won’t be considering that bigger picture right now. However, it might have an impact on how events unfold at Lord’s over the coming days.
For once, South Africa isn’t only playing for themselves, whether they realize it or not. Perhaps that’s what they need to overcome the stigma associated with failing to pass the last obstacle.
Australia is attempting to add another gem to their already impressive crown, continuing the success of the Pat Cummins era. They are hoping to go back-to-back with a team that is essentially the same as 2023, but if anything more hungry than they were in 2023, two years after winning the WTC for the first time. Despite his lack of emotion, Cummins and his crew are always rather open about their thoughts on the task at hand.
As soon as – South Africa vs. Australia World Test Championship (WTC) Final, June 11–16, 2025, 10:30 a.m. local time, 19:30 a.m. AEST, and 15:00 p.m. IST
In which – Lord’s, London
What to anticipate
It’s June in London. Thus, some weather is present. Over the past week or two, a lot of rain has fallen over the nation, breaking up what has generally been a fairly dry summer. However, the final has been very clear in the last few days, giving the two sides plenty of time to practice at Lord’s. Given that the middle surface appears to be rather dry for this time of year, the weather will also have a significant impact on how the cricket matches turn out. It’s more of a brownish tint without any green.A track with runs should be ideal, but with two excellent bowling attacks available, the possibility of some weather should be enough to make this match more evenly contested than anticipated.
Team Updates
South Africa
In the lead-up to a Test, you can usually tell who is playing and who is not by watching the bowlers perform their routines in the center square at Lord’s. The identity of South Africa’s third seamer became clear on Monday as bowling consultant Stuart Broad focused all of his attention on Lungi Ngidi in the middle. The only way for them to stretch their batting and give their lower-order a fairly powerful feel was to insert all-rounder Wiaan Mulder at No. 3, as the coaching staff was eager to have Tristan Stubbs in the middle.
Playing XI:Ryan Rickelton, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Temba Bavuma (c), David Bedingham, Tristan Stubbs, Kyle Verreynne (wk), Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi
Austraila
Two batters from Australia will bat out of place in the top order. Cameron Green makes his Test comeback at No. 3, a position he has only batted in once in first-class cricket, while Marnus Labuschagne was announced as the new Test opener, albeit only for this Test. Naturally, since coming to England, Labuschagne has put up a strong fight against the new ball at both Lord’s and Beckenham.Beau Webster remains at number six thanks to his promotion to the top, but Alex Carey may move up in the batting order to give the Australians a fifth bowling option.
Ironically, the only other alteration to Australia’s playing lineup from the 2023 WTC final is the addition of Josh Hazlewood as a third seamer in place of Scott Boland. In order to finalize his selection, Hazlewood, who had been recuperating from an IPL niggle, worked out in London. He increased his mileage from 5 overs at 80% on Saturday to almost 17 overs on Sunday at Lord’s, a field where he has experienced great success in the past.
Playing XI:Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Cameron Green, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Beau Webster, Alex Carey (wk), Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins (c), Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood
Were you aware?
“This is cricket in its purest form. Just returning the attention to red ball cricket. It might alter the cricket scene in South Africa. What a victory at Lord’s may mean for South African cricket, said Lungi Ngidion.
“There are some guys where you generally say you’ve done nothing wrong, don’t change a thing, and that’s Scott and he’s just really unfortunate to miss out.” The call to leave Boland for Hazlewood was taken by Pat Cummins.
