Australia and South Africa national cricket teams have named their respective playing XIs for the World Test Championship final to be played at Lord's from June 11-15.
Australia are the defending champions of the WTC with Pat Cummins leading the side. South Africa will be led by Temba Bavuma who has played a big role in turning the campaign around for the Proteas.
South Africa after performing well in the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 and the T20 World Cup 2024, now are playing their first major ICC final. They have a shot at making his story.
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Pat Cummins, Temba Bavuma Brace Themselves For An Epic Contest
Both South Africa and Australia have made some intersting choices in terms of picking their playing XI. Australia have decided to drop Sam Konstas and open with Marnus Labuschagne. Skipper Pat Cummins in the pre-match press conference spoke about the rationale behind the move.
"Realistically, he's really young, he's got a long career ahead of him. So hopefully, even by not playing, we can show him their learning opportunities." Cummins said.
Josh Hazlewood also made a return to the playing XI at the expense of Scott Boland. Cummins explained the reason behind this move as well. Recently, Hazlewood played a big part in helping RCB win their maiden IPL final.
"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," Cummins said.
Temba Bavuma, the SA skipper also named the Proteas playing XI in the pre-match press conference. Wiaan Mulder will bat at number three and Bavuma explained the reason behind the decision in the press meet.
"Mulder is quite young in that position. But I think having played with Mulder, having seen him and the way he has grown in the last two years within the red-ball format. It's about giving him a lot more confidence, keep backing him and just allowing him to do what he does best" Bavuma said.
Also Read: WTC 2025: This Is How Much Team India Will Win Despite Not Playing The Final
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Australia, South Africa Playing XIs For WTC 2025 Final
Australia XI - Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Cameron Green, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Beau Webster, Alex Carey (WK), Pat Cummins (C), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood
South Africa XI - Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, Wiaan Mulder, Temba Bavuma (C), Tristan Stubbs, David Bedingham, Kyle Verreynne (wk), Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi
Also Read:Â WTC 2025 Final: No Sam Konstas in WTC Final as Marnus Labuschagne set to open with Usman Khawaja
