South Africa Vs Australia – Squads, Journey, And Key Players To Watch Out! News24 –

Cricket enthusiasts from all over the globe are set to witness one of the most awaited games of the year-the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) Final 2025, in which South Africa will face off against Australia at the legendary Lord’s Cricket Ground in London.

The WTC Final will take place from June 11 to June 15, with June 16 kept as a stand-by day in the event of rain or other disruption. Play will commence at 10:30 AM local time, guaranteeing five days of exciting, high-pressure Test cricket.

Two top teams 🇦🇺 🇿🇦
One ultimate dream 🤩

All the details about the upcoming #WTC25 Final at Lord’s 📝https://t.co/EBJE88rLNp

— ICC (@ICC) May 19, 2025

Squads for the WTC Final

South Africa

Tony de Zorzi, Ryan Rickelton, Aiden Markram, Temba Bavuma (c), David Bedingham, Tristan Stubbs, Kyle Verreynne, Wiaan Mulder, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Dane Paterson, Keshav Maharaj, Senuran Muthusamy

Australia
Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Alex Carey, Josh Inglis, Cameron Green, Beau Webster, Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Scott Boland, Nathan Lyon, Matt Kuhnemann
Travelling Reserve: Brendan Doggett

South Africa’s Path to the Final

South Africa comes into the WTC Final as the leaders of the table, following a commanding campaign where they have won 8 out of their 12 matches.

Their campaign started with a 1-1 draw at home against India, followed by a debacle—a 2-0 series defeat against New Zealand. But the Proteas recovered with a 1-0 victory in the West Indies, before registering 2-0 sweeps over Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

The pick of their campaign was a heart-stopping two-wicket victory over Pakistan at Centurion that wrapped up a 2-0 series triumph and booked their place into the final. They recorded their seventh successive Test victory of the series with the win, setting out their authority across conditions.

Australia’s Road to the Final

Australia, the current WTC holders, make their second successive final appearance. They took a longer journey, playing 19 Tests overall and second on the points table.

Their campaign started with two Ashes triumphs, then England fought back to take the series 2-2. At home, they whitewashed Pakistan 3-0, but were embarrassed by the West Indies in Brisbane, drawing the series 1-1.

The Aussies steadied themselves with a 2-0 away series victory over New Zealand, and then welcomed India for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. They lost the first Test but came back strongly with three victories in four games to win the series and qualify for the final.
They finished their journey with a dominant 2-0 series victory over Sri Lanka, wrapping up a clean run with momentum behind them.

Key Players to Watch

Kagiso Rabada

The No. 2 ranked ICC Test bowler, Kagiso Rabada has been the fulcrum of South Africa’s cause. In a mere 10 games, he has taken 47 wickets at an awe-inspiring average of 19.97, which includes three five-wicket returns.

Rabada also performs well in English conditions, with 30 wickets from only six Tests played in England. His early firepower and ability to take control at the end of the innings make him South Africa’s X-factor for the final.

Travis Head

Travis Head has been the pillar of Australia’s batting unit in this WTC cycle. He has accumulated 1,177 runs in 19 games, including three centuries, with consistent and attacking cricket.

A grizzled campaigner in English weather, Head has scored 734 runs in 10 Tests in England. He was the man of the series in the 2023 WTC Final, wherein his explosive 163-run innings against India at The Oval guided Australia to the title. The Aussies will be relying on him to repeat the trick at Lord’s.