Proteas captain Temba Bavuma has won the toss and elected to bowl in the World Test Championship final at Lords against Australia.
Lord’s has been bedecked by cloud cover all Wednesday morning and Bavuma had no hesitation in sending the Aussies in to have first strike.
“I think we have selected the best team for these conditions. Massive [occasion]. You can hear the South African accents as well in the stands. Should be a spectacle,” Bavuma said.
Australian captain Pat Cummins says his team are ready for the challenge of batting first.
“Preparation has been unreal. All the guys in the team are ready to go. Everyone’s come together and we have had about ten days of preparation,” Cummins said.
“I don’t think there’s any extra pressure. We’ve been here before and won it. So it’s just about going out and enjoying it.”
Former England fast bowler, Stuart Broad, who assisted the Proteas with their preparations, did the pitch report.
“The clouds are intriguing me. I think the pitch looks nice, particularly on day two when the sun comes out. Captains have leant towards bowling here but the results have leant towards teams batting first. If you bowl first, the new ball bowlers need to be on the money,” Broad said.
“You need to get used to the slope early on and settle. When you are bowling at the Pavillion end, bowling to the right-hander, you try to move it towards the stumps for bowled and lbw and from the Nursery end, you try to move it away to get the edges.”
She’s all dressed up and ready to play! Will the sun shine on the Proteas ? 🏏#Lords @iol @IOLsport #WTCFinal pic.twitter.com/PoFyh6aguz
— Zaahier Adams (@ZaahierAdams) June 10, 2025
TEAMS FOR WORLD TEST CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL AT LORD’S
PROTEAS: Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickleton, Wiaan Mulder, Temba Bavuma (capt), Tristan Stubbs, David Bedingham, Kyle Verreynne, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi.
AUSTRALIA: Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Cameron Green, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Beau Webster, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (capt), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood.
Start: 11:30AM (SA time), TV: SuperSport
