South Africa has announced what it described as a strong playing XI for the much-anticipated ICC World Test Championship Final against Australia starting on Wednesday at the Lords Cricket Ground in London.
Temba Bavuma will marshal the team, which is made up of many first-time finalists, who’ll also be playing for the first time at the historic venue regarded as the home of cricket.
Ryan Rickelton will lead the Proteas batting line-up, followed by captain Bavuma, who are under pressure to combine to register decent runs, as they’ll face the Aussie onslaught.
The selectors decided to stick with Wiaan Mulder at number three, after he was used in the same position during the 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.
It’s about giving him a lot more confidence, keep backing him and just allowing him to do what he does best,” said Bavuma.
Lungi Ngidi, Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen will lead the bowling attack, while the selectors only stuck with one spinner, Keshav Maharaj.
Bavuma sought to justify the inclusion of Ngidi, who last played a Test match in August last year and has been battling a series of injuries which ruled him out of many Proteas important games.
“Probably one of the tougher decisions that has been made.
We see what Dane Paterson did for us to the end of last season.
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,” explained the captain.
The Proteas booked their place in the final, by topping the ICC World Test Championship 2023/25 standings, with the Aussies in second place.
Here is the rest of the Proteas squad:
Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, Wiaan Mulder, Temba Bavuma (Captain), Tristan Stubbs, David Bedingham, Kyle Verreynne (Wicketkeeper), Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi.
