The final of the third edition of the World Test Championship begins tomorrow (Wednesday) at the historic venue Lord’s in England. South Africa will face defending champions Australia. Temba Bavuma’s South Africa announced their playing eleven 24 hours before the title-deciding clash. Pat Cummins’ Australia also announced their playing eleven about an hour later.
Australia and South Africa will face off in the Test Championship final at 3:30 pm Bangladesh time on Wednesday. Both teams have announced surprises in their batting lineups. The Proteas’ announced team includes three main pacers and only specialist spinner Keshav Maharaj. Apart from this, their final eleven has a combination of young and experienced cricketers. On the other hand, the last time champion Ajit’s eleven has been formed with tested cricketers. It goes without saying that they are aiming to retain the title!
Ryan Rickelton is South Africa’s highest run-scorer in the 2023-25 Test Championship cycle. Captain Bavuma will be seen opening for the Proteas along with him. Apart from this, the batting lineup includes the in-form Aiden Markram, Tristan Stubbs, David Bedingham and Kyle Verraer. Young all-rounder Wian Mulder will be seen in the batting position three. The African captain has indicated that. Apart from that, Dan Patterson, despite performing well in the team’s last series, was not retained. He has been replaced by experienced pacer Lungi Ngidi.
South Africa XI:
Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, Wian Mulder, Temba Bavuma (captain), Tristan Stubbs, David Bedingham, Kyle Verraigne (wicketkeeper), Marco Janssen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi.
Marnus Labuschagne will be seen opening for Australia in the final. Another experienced star, Usman Khawaja, will be with him. That is, young Sam Constas, who was discussed in the India series, will not be in the final. Apart from this, Josh Hazlewood will play in place of Scott Boland, one of the heroes of the title-winning match last time. Boland got the opportunity to serve due to an injury to the right-arm pacer. Apart from this, captain Cummins and Mitchell Starc are in the pace department of the Ajits. Cameron Green, who returned after back surgery, is also in the XI. However, he will play only as a batter.
