South Africa vs Australia, Final - Live Cricket Score, Commentary

Teams:

South Africa (Playing XI): Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, Wiaan Mulder, Temba Bavuma(c), Tristan Stubbs, David Bedingham, Kyle Verreynne(w), Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi

Australia (Playing XI): Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Cameron Green, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Beau Webster, Alex Carey(w), Pat Cummins(c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood

Preview by Bharat Sundaresan

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.

When: World Test Championship (WTC) Final, South Africa v Australia, June 11-16, 2025, 10:30 hrs Local Time, 19:30 AEST, 15:00 hrs IST

Where: Lord's, London

What to expect: It's London in June. So there is some weather around. What has otherwise been a rather dry summer has given way to a lot of rain around the country over the last week or so. The last few days leading into the final though have been pretty clear, allowing the two teams to get ample practice at Lord's. And weather will play a big part in how the cricket pans out as well, considering the surface in the middle looks pretty dry for this time of the year. More a brownish tinge with no green on it. That should ideally mean a track with runs on it, but with two high-quality bowling attacks on offer, even the chance of some weather around should be enough to make this contest more even than expected.

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

Did you know?

- South Africa are on a seven-match winning streak, their second-longest in Test cricket. They had a nine-game winning run between March 2002 and May 2003.

- Australia have lost just two (2009 and 2013) out of the 23 Tests they have played at Lord's post World War II. They've won 12 while nine ended in draws.

- Since the start of English summer 2022, Lord's has had an average runs/wicket ratio of 28.72 in six Tests, the lowest among the six England venues.

What they said:

"This is the ultimate form of cricket. Just bringing that focus back to red ball cricket. It could change the landscape of cricket in South Africa." - Lungi Ngidion what a win at Lord's could do for South African cricket.

"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." - Pat Cummins on taking the call to leave Boland out for Hazlewood.

Squads:

Australia Squad: Sam Konstas, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Beau Webster, Alex Carey(w), Pat Cummins(c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland, Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, Cameron Green, Matthew Kuhnemann

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