Just under a year out from making their first-ever ICC World Cup final, the Proteas have another chance at history when they take on Australia in the World Test Championship Final at Lord’s.
Although this isn’t a white-ball tournament, holding the name “World Cup”, the World Test Championship is essentially the World Cup of red-ball cricket. There would be no shame in Proteas fans celebrating a victory as if they have won their first-ever World Cup trophy. That’s if they win.
Their opponents are Australia – a country with a rich history of winning big finals. Their record has been outstanding.
Six 50-over World Cup trophies:
1987 – Defeated England
1999 – Defeated Pakistan
2003 – Defeated India
2007 – Defeated Sri Lanka
2015 – Defeated New Zealand
2023 – Defeated India
They have one T20 World Cup trophy, having beaten New Zealand in 2021.
They are also the defending champions of the World Test Championship, defeating India in 2023.
The Proteas have been reset and reformed under head coach Shukri Conrad and are on an upward trajectory ever since he took charge of the Test side in 2023.
South Africa has only lost one series under his watch, in a series against New Zealand, with a second-string side. Only two players of the current squad were available to play this series – David Bedingham and Dane Paterson – due to SA20 commitments for the other players.
The rest of their record has been superb. A home win against the West Indies (2023), a home draw against India (2023), an away win against the West Indies (2024), an away win against Bangladesh (2024), a home win against Sri Lanka (2024) and a home win against Pakistan (2024/25).
Some have been critical about the opponents that the Proteas had to face leading up to the final, diminishing the calibre of teams. Conrad dismissed this firmly.
“I think enough’s been spoken about that. I’m tired of speaking about it, to be honest. We’re here and that’s all that matters,” he stated.
“We get a chance to walk away as the World Test champions, playing Australia. It doesn’t get any bigger than that. So, yeah, what’s gone before counts for absolutely nothing at the minute. And we’ll be quietly confident going into this game that we can pull one over them. We’re a confident bunch. We play well as a unit.”
Although the team is quite inexperienced with regards to the number of Test caps, there have been impressive signs from batters like David Bedingham, Tristan Stubbs, Ryan Rickelton, Kyle Verreynne and Tony de Zorzi who have all contributed with important centuries for the side. The batting in general has seen a massive improvement with several batters stepping up in key moments.
“Yeah, look I think, obviously the inexperience of the batters is very apparent in terms of the number of Tests played and ICC rankings,” he said.
“On the batting front, look I think there’s a quiet confidence amongst the batting group. They come off a lot of confidence having gotten hundreds of different players at different stages. So, whilst they might not have the superstar names amongst them, I think as a collective we’re pretty confident.”
On the bowling front, it’s obvious that Kagiso Rabada will be crucial, but so will players like Marco Jansen and Keshav Maharaj who have been standouts in Test cricket as stated by Conrad. They will need to be disciplined and take advantage of the Dukes ball and conditions at Lord’s. There will be a toss-up between Lungi Ngidi and Dane Paterson. Ngidi with his 55 wickets at 23.14 or Paterson’s ability to move the Dukes ball which he displayed profoundly during his County Cricket career. Corbin Bosch’s express pace will also be tempting to utilize.
“I think it’s pretty normal to chat about the bowlers when you’ve got guys like Kajisa Rabada, ranked two in the world, and Marco and Keshav,” Conrad explained.
“Obviously the new ball, critical. But then also, there’s been a lot of talk about when the lacquer comes off the ball. Talking around over ten maybe.
“You still need guys that are as effective with that ball when the lacquer comes off and it tends to swing a little bit more. So that will be a consideration. The bounce here with the older ball can be a little bit inconsistent, can be a bit slower, than what we’re normally accustomed to. So those would be the considerations.
“Obviously not a venue where spin is a massive factor in terms of wickets taken. But it’s shown that spinners can play a role here. Both as wicket-takers and doing an important holding role as well for your seamers to be effective. So I think those are pretty much the conversations that have happened.”
Australia has a world-class bowling attack with Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon and Josh Hazlewood all experienced and familiar with the Lord’s conditions. But there could also be a shout for Scott Boland who has been impressive with 56 wickets in 13 Tests.
From a batting perspective, Australia have dominant players in their top 5, with maybe the only uncertainty being who will open with Usman Khawaja at the top of the order. It’s clear that being aware of the experienced players is paramount, but Travis Head’s explosive batting power will scare any bowling attack, which South Africa needs to be wary of.
Steve Smith is of course, familiar with the venue where he made his Test debut against Pakistan in 2010. He has scored 525 runs at 58.33 at Lord’s, including a century on his last visit in 2023. The former Aussie captain needs 17 more runs to pass Don Bradman for the most scored for his country on the ground.
The Proteas announced their XI for the final on Tuesday:
Markram
Rickelton
Mulder
Bavuma
Stubbs
Bedingham
Verreynne
Jansen
Maharaj
Rabada
Ngidi
Australia also named their XI:
Khawaja
Labuschagne
Green
Smith
Head
Webster
Carey
Cummins
Starc
Lyon
Hazlewood
We await an exciting clash between two exciting Test teams. The match will start on Wednesday at 11:30 SAST (10:30 local time).
