🏏ICC WTC Finals: Aus vs SA at Lords, 11 - 15 June 25 - Day 4🏏

🏏ICC WTC Finals: Australia vs South Africa at Lord's on 11 June 2025 at 3:00 PM IST🏏

SA fight history and perceptions against Australia, who have done it before

The teams have been involved in some of the fiercest battles over 30 years, and now clash for the big title at Lord's. Is South Africa's XI more settled than Australia's?

This will be the first World Test Championship final at Lord's, the home of cricket. But it won't be the first time Australia and South Africa meet in a Test match at Lord's. In 1912, the two sides met in the fifth match of a Triangular Test tournament between the only three Test nations in the world at the time, that ran from late May until late August, with England triumphing.

Although the tournament was an unsuccessful one-off event, in some ways it was a precursor to the World Test Championship (WTC). For the record, Australia beat South Africa at Lord's by 10 wickets 113 years ago. They start this week's final as defending champions and warm favourites, with former South African greats even acknowledging and embracing the underdog status.

Those same former greats and the team itself can feel the weight of this final. South Africa are fighting history, with their only previous title being the ICC Knockout in 1998. They are fighting perceptions, too, of having supposedly not earned their place in the decider because of a perceived easy route, despite winning their last seven Tests after winning just one of their first five in the two-year cycle. They are also fighting a familiar foe. South Africa and Australia have played out some of the feistiest and most entertaining Test battles over the past 30 years.

But their most recent meeting in 2022-23 was arguably the most uncompetitive in three decades. And despite some suggestions from Kagiso Rabada, among others, that things could get spicy, the Australia team that will arrive at Lord's on Wednesday is not a stereotypical one.

While South Africa can feel the weight of history and the significance of this final on their Test future, Australia have taken an entirely different approach. Previous Australian teams might have taken a trip to Gallipoli or the Somme to imbibe the spirit of the Anzacs ahead of a final like this. Those days, though, are long gone for this Australian team. Just as they did two years ago ahead of the WTC 2023 final, they prioritised five days of golf in northern Scotland over a practice match as part of another relaxed and bespoke build-up.

Most of Australia's squad have been there and done it before. They know what to expect and how to handle the occasion, with the core of the group gunning for a fourth world title across three formats in four years. They boast of one of the best bowling quartets of all time, and have one of the best batters of all time in Steven Smith, who has been back near his best this year. Travis Head is also on a streak of consecutive match-winning centuries in his last two global finals.

But they had some key questions to answer over the XI. Cameron Green being fit to bat, and in fine form, but unable to bowl is a spanner in the works given he has not played in Australia's last seven Tests. He will now bat No. 3 for just the second time in his first-class career, in his first Test in 15 months, while Marnus Labuschagne opens the batting for the first time in Test cricket. It will also mean Usman Khawaja will have a fifth different opening partner in nine Tests.

South Africa's batting order has lined up as expected. But most of them will be unknowns of sorts to Australia's attack, with only Aiden Markram and Temba Bavuma having played Test cricket against them before, although Australia's quicks have seen plenty of Tristan Stubbs and Ryan Rickelton in the IPL, with Stubbs and Mitchell Starc having also played together.

In the spotlight: Kagiso Rabada and Marnus Labuschagne

Kagiso Rabada has been in the headlines for the wrong reasons over the last few months, and it will be intriguing to see how he performs in the WTC final. He looms as Australia's biggest threat, given he dismantled England in his last Test appearance at Lord's, and has tormented Australia down the years - especially when the ball swings and seams. The break from the IPL may have done Rabada a favour in terms of freshening up for the final. Australia collared a tired Rabada in flat conditions in the last two Tests of the 2022-23 series. But coming in fresh with a chip on his shoulder, and brandishing a brand-new Duke's ball under dank skies at Lord's, he looms as a potential match-winner for South Africa.

Marnus Labuschagne is under the most pressure he has ever faced in his Test career. Nearing his 31st birthday, with 57 Tests and over 4000 runs to his name, he should have been in the prime of his career and at the peak of his powers. Instead, Labuschagne is fighting for his immediate future. He is now being asked to bat out of position for the first time in six years. His performances in three innings for Glamorgan last month would have done little to allay any fears about his overall form. Labuschagne's last first-class century came opening the batting for Glamorgan, but it was over 12 months ago. The selectors, though, are banking on his experience shining through in the final.

Pitch and conditions: Look up and look down

It had been a very dry start to the English summer up until the last week. Neither Australia nor South Africa have much experience of playing at Lord's in early June, and there will be some guessing about the conditions. Given the dry spring, the surface is on the drier side which could mean more of an impact for the spinners. The forecast looks good with warm temperatures coming, although there is a chance of a few thunderstorms.

SA vs AUS WTC 2025 Final Weather Forecast

From June 11 to June 15, 2025, London is expected to experience generally warm and stable weather conditions. Daytime temperatures will range between 24°C and 27°C, with nights cooling to the upper 50s or low 60s. Humidity levels are anticipated to remain moderate throughout, accompanied by consistent light winds. Cloud coverage will vary, with periods of sunshine interspersed with partly to mostly cloudy skies. Light rain is possible on Thursday morning and more likely on Friday afternoon, while the rest of the days are forecast to stay mostly dry. Overall, the weather should remain comfortable with minimal disruptions.

Stats and trivia

• Australia and South Africa have met three times in neutral Tests, with all three played in 1912. Australia won two of those Tests at Manchester and Lord's. The third at Nottingham was drawn.
• Pat Cummins, Starc, Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon are the first four-man attack in Test history to play together with 250 wickets each. But Rabada alone has 327 wickets at a better average and strike rate than all four of them.
• Australia have played 40 Tests at Lord's for 18 wins, seven losses and 15 draws. South Africa have played 18 there, winning six, losing eight and drawing four.

There's this earnestness to everything Temba Bavuma does as a cricketer. It comes through even more when you hear him speak in a press conference. He's measured. He's contemplative. He's patient. Often, he is also emotional.

And he certainly didn't hold back on his emotions as he addressed the possibility of becoming the first South African captain to lead his country to a proper world title (the 1998 ICC Knockouts notwithstanding).

Especially when he started talking about how even getting to Lord's for this big finale was part of his "story" and his team's "story". If anything, he must have brought up the "story" at least a dozen times as he spoke about South Africa's chances in the World Test Championship Final that kicks off at Lord's on Wednesday. It was difficult not to be moved by how much it seemed to move him. Even if many have questioned his team's progress to the final along with their credentials as a Test team to get to this stage. "Who did they beat after all?" being an unavoidable narrative that's followed their progress to this stage.

The fact is that now they know who they'll have to beat to shut everyone up. A team that has historically been a bugbear for them in matches that matter. A team that has perennially managed to get the better of them when it matters most.

Not to forget their own well-publicised issues with finals and knockout matches across eras and across decades. But there's more. If the South Africans weren't carrying the pressure and baggage of their own legacy and history into the final against Australia, there's more riding on it than Bavuma and his team completing their story.

There's a bigger narrative at play. For, in many ways, South Africa will also be going in to bat for the rest of the Test nations around the world who like them struggle to keep up with the financial demands of hosting and playing the traditional format. A South African win here could well trigger some interesting conversations around what could lie ahead for teams that are "not as economically strong as the other nations". At a time, more importantly, when there's so much talk of future schedules being designed around the needs of certain nations, and also the potential of divisions.

Not that Bavuma or his players will currently be thinking about that larger narrative. But it could well have a bearing on how things pan out over the next few days at Lord's.

Whether they know it or not, South Africa for once aren't just playing for themselves. Maybe that's what they need to get over the stigma of not being able to get over the final hurdle.

As for Australia, it's a continuation of the rise of the Pat Cummins era, as they try to add another jewel to their burgeoning crown. Two years on from having won the WTC for the first time, they are looking to go back-to-back with a team that's more or less the same as 2023, but if anything hungrier than even they were back then. Though never emotional, Cummins is always pretty candid with what he thinks of the challenge ahead of him, and so are his team.

Team News

South Africa

It's generally easy to figure out who's playing and who's not based on the bowlers you see going through their routines on the centre square at Lord's in the lead-up to a Test. And once it was Lungi Ngidi getting all the attention in the middle from bowling consultant Stuart Broad on Monday, the identity of South Africa's third seamer was pretty evident. With the coaching staff keen to have Tristan Stubbs in the middle, the only option left for them was to slot all-rounder Wiaan Mulder in at No 3 to extend their batting, giving their lower-order a pretty strong feel.

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

Australia

Australia will have two batters in the top order batting out of positions. Marnus Labuschagne was revealed as the new Test opener, though only for this Test currently, while Cameron Green makes his Test return at No 3, a position he's batted in only once in first-class cricket. Labuschagne has of course batted the house down facing the new-ball ever since arriving in England, both at Beckenham and at Lord's. His promotion to the top also allows the Aussies to stick with Beau Webster at No 6, though Alex Carey could slot in ahead of him in the batting order, and thereby giving them a fifth bowling option.

The only other change in Australia's playing XI from the WTC final in 2023, ironically, is Josh Hazlewood replacing Scott Boland as the third seamer. Hazlewood who'd been recovering from a niggle during the IPL, went through his fitness routines in London, building up from 5 overs at 80 per cent on Saturday to nearly 17 overs on Sunday at Lord's to finalise his selection, on a ground where he's tasted a lot of 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

After two years of grind and many ups and downs, here we are. It is the final of the World Test Championship and we have defending champions Australia up against South Africa, who are in the hunt for their first ICC trophy after the ICC Knockout in 1998. Two feisty bowling attacks go up against each other and two batting lineups with a lot to prove. It should be a crackerjack of a contest at Lord's. So strap in, and follow our live coverage from London.

Andrew McGlashan is at the venue and he sets the scene early: "Good morning from Lord's. It's felt like a lengthy build-up for a one-off Test, but we are here at day one. It's an overcast morning but the forecast is set fair. Plenty of people mingling in the middle. The warm-ups are about to begin. Steve Smith has been having a hit in the nets (but he was ready four days ago). The surface is straw-coloured and looks dry. Spin could have a key role to play despite it being early June."

This will, surprisingly, not be the first time Australia and South Africa have met for a Test at Lord's. In 1912, the two teams met at the same venue in a tri-series between the only three Test playing nations at the time. Australia, the favourites in this game, won that contest by 10 wickets, but that is ancient history, no? Well, South Africa are fighting history at Lord's, as well as perceptions of not having earned their place in the final due to their schedule. They will look to silence the critics, and surprisingly, come into the game with a more settled batting order.

Bologna did it for the first time in 51 years, Newcastle United did it for the first time in 56 years, Tottenham Hotspurs did it for the first time in 41 years and Paris Saint-Germain did it for the first time in their history. In our sport, the GMR group got their maiden trophy through Dubai Capitals in 2025, and more recently, RCB did it for the first time in 18 years. South Africa, 2025? It’s been a year where trophy jinxes are being broken, where the underdogs are celebrating the loudest and maybe, just maybe it is the year that South Africa finally brush aside their tag of ‘chokers.’