Australia have unveiled their playing XI for the ICC World Test Championship Final against South Africa, slated to be begin on June 11 at Lord's.
Marnus Labuschagne is set to open the innings alongside Usman Khawaja, while the defending champions has preferred Josh Hazlewood over Scott Boland in the pace department. Hazlewood will be supported by Mitchell Starc and skipper Pat Cummins.
All-rounder Cameron Green will play his first Test since back surgery. Beau Webster also retained his place in the team to provide the frontline bowlers some support with his medium pace.
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 also announced a strong lineup for the highly-anticipated clash against Australia at the Home of Cricket.
Headlining the batting order is Ryan Rickelton, who has been South Africa’s top-scorer in the WTC 2023/25 cycle, alongside skipper Temba Bavuma - not too far behind in the scoring charts, Aiden Markram, and Tristan Stubbs.
A notable decision is to stick with Wiaan Mulder at No.3 after he was used at that position during Proteas’ recent Tests against Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
"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,” Bavuma said.
“It's about giving him a lot more confidence, keep backing him and just allowing him to do what he does best.
"He has an opportunity in a pressure situation, but I think he can take comfort from the fact that the guys are backing him. We just want him to play his game."
While Keshav Maharaj is the lone specialist spinner, the bowling lineup also features Kagiso Rabada, Marco Jansen alongside Lungi Ngidi.
The squad also featured Dane Paterson, who had been in fine form during their last Test series against Pakistan. However, Bavuma explained the reasoning behind opting for Ngidi.
"Probably one of the tougher decisions that has been made. We see what Dane Paterson did for us to the end of last season," Bavuma stated.
“But it was more from a tactical point of view. Probably a little bit more pace from Lungi, guess he's a bit taller as well.
"Lungi also has a better record, not taking away anything from Patto. He (Ngidi) has the experience, he's played here before, not that Patto hasn't.
"But I think he (Ngidi) will complement that bowling attack a little more. We have a guy like Mulder, who can give us something similar like Patto.
"It was probably one of the difficult decision we had to make."
South Africa XI: Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, Wiaan Mulder, Temba Bavuma (c), Tristan Stubbs, David Bedingham, Kyle Verrynne (wk), Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi
