The World Test Championship (WTC) finals are scheduled to take place at Lord's Cricket Stadium, London, between
Australia and South Africa. The match will be pivotal for the Proteas as this will be their first WTC final, while the mighty Aussies have qualified for the finals two consecutive times, marking it a huge achievement. As the finals will end on June 15, the new WTC cycle between India and England will start on June 21.
This Test match will take place at Lord's, which will support the pacers more, and will be an eventful sight to watch for the fans. In this article, we will discuss the pace attacks of both teams, their strengths, current form, and which of the two will have a stronger impact on the other. Both teams have a solid pace attack, and it will be interesting to see how both captains will use them during the match.
Battle of the Pace Batteries between Australia and South Africa for WTC 2025 final:
Australia
Australia's pace attack will be led by captain Pat Cummins, who has an ample amount of experience in red-ball cricket. Moreover, he is the No. 3 Test bowler as per the ICC Men's Test Rankings. Cummins will get help from his teammates, Mitchell Starc, Scott Boland, and Josh Hazlewood. There are four bowlers who have experience, variety, and an advantage at Lord's. They are fully fit and will return to attack with a lot of positive spirit.
If we speak about experience, Cummins, Starc, and Hazlewood have played more than 200 Test matches combined, with a track record of performing well at high-stakes games. They were a part of Australia's bowling attack back in the WTC 2023 finals, when they defeated the Indian team. Boland is consistent while Starc has his left-arm angle, which perfectly sits well with the others. They have a lot to offer in terms of variety: swing, seam, and reverse swing.
Moreover, the bowlers are quite familiar with the English conditions, which is an added advantage for the team. Hazlewood and Boland are in form and exploit the seam movement, where 76.37% of wickets fall off with pace. Also, their capability to perform under pressure is another thing which the entire cricket fraternity should learn, considering the fact that the mighty Aussies have the most number of ICC Trophies (10).
South Africa
The Proteas will be facing the Australian bowling attack for the first time at Lord's, which isn't an easy task. However, their own bowling attack is worth the praise. Kagiso Rabada will lead the attack with Lungi Ngidi, Marco Jansen, Wiaan Mulder and Corbin Bosch. South Africa's pace unit is known for their pace, bounce, and aggression. Rabada is a match-winner and can dismantle the entire batting line-up, even in crunch situations. He has experience and can swing the ball with perfection.
The pacer will get the support from left-arm bowler Jansen, Mulder's seam movements, and Ngidi's bounce, which will be very helpful in London. The Proteas have a balanced bowling lineup, which will help them tackle the swing and remove the top-order batters quickly. Striking the balance between the bowlers will depend upon captain Bavuma, but otherwise, the team looks sorted in the bowling department.
However, the form aspect might be a bit tricky for South Africa. While Bosch lacks experience, Rabada and Ngidi played in all the games, raising concerns about their workload. Hence, Australia might have an upper edge in the finals as they have the experience, cohesion, and the ability to adapt to the weather conditions in London. Hence, the South African batters might have some issues dealing with the threat they might receive from the Australian bowling attack.
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