THE WTC PREVIEW

THE WTC PREVIEW

South Africa will face its haunting past and history and wants to overcome the tag of 'chokers' associated with it for the longest time... Australia will come to the battleground with immense confidence, pride, and honor... PRIDE of being CHAMPIONS, PRIDE OF HAVING DONE IT BEFORE, and the belief of passing the South African huddle once again like they have done before a few times.

While South Africa's qualification is being termed by many as a fluke, citing their path to the finals as a tad easier than that of the other teams, one should not forget their 7-match winning streak, which is yet to be broken.

Australia citing to become back-to-back WTC champions have also had an interesting and challenging road to the finals... whether it was the Thrilling and controversial 2023 ASHES SERIES or the massive 2024-25 BGT.

VENUE:

WTC for the 1st time in its history comes to the HOME OF CRICKET: THE LORDS CRICKET GROUND.
While Australia returns to LORDS, 2 years after that famous match against England ... South Africa returns to this ground 3 years after beating England by an innings and 12 runs in a famous victory which consisted of KG Rabada's 7-fer and valuable contributions by Marco Jansen and Keshav Maharaj.

The only match these 2 teams played together at LORDS was 113 years ago in 1912 which was part of a triangular test series between England, South Africa, and Australia which England ultimately won.
The match was won by Australia by 10 wickets.

The pitch at Lords has recently shown glimpses of how flat and helpful it can be for the batters if the 1st day and atmost the 2nd day is negotiated well enough.
WIN THE TOSS AND BOWL could be a good option for both teams.


TIME:

The match will be starting at 2:30 PM IST.

CAPTAIN's:

While the ODI WC winning, WTC 23' winning, BGT winning, and Ashes-winning captain PAT CUMMINS is leading to AUSSIES once again towards the path of glory... Fiery and Confident TEMBA BAVUMA is leading the South African's who are yet to lose a test match under TEMBA's Captaincy.


WILL THE RESERVED DAY BE USED IF THE MATCH IS DRAWN/TIED?

The reserved day will only be used to make up for the loss of time and overs the match had to bear due to weather or any other circumstances like it was used during the 2021 WTC FINAL where the rain washed out the entire DAY 1 and later on the match also had stoppages due to rain on other days.
So, NO, the reserved day would not be used if the match is DRAWN/TIED given the match has not had to bear any stoppages and loss of overs.


WHAT HAPPENS IF THE MATCH IS DRAWN/TIED/ABANDONED?

If the match is DRAWN/TIED/ABANDONED, The WTC trophy will be shared between both the teams.

PLAYING XI:

Australia:
1. Usman Khawaja
2. Marnus Labuschagne
3. Cameron Green
4. Steve Smith
5. Travis Head
6. Beau Webster
7. Alex Carey[wk]
8. Pat Cummins[C]
9. Mitchell Starc
10. Nathan Lyon
11. Josh Hazlewood
  Australia is going to take the field with a new look Top 3 with Marnus opening and Cam Green at 3 which is going to be interesting to watch. While the middle order is settled we see Josh Hazlewood vs Scott Boland debate being settled with Josh who has never lost a final in his career being picked over Scott Boland... with the pace trio comes the experienced finger spinner Nathan Lyon who could extract some help from the pitch if dry conditions experienced. The additional options of Cam Green's medium pace and Beau Webster's both medium pace and finger spin could also come in handy.
All in all, apart from the new look top 3, the Australian lineup looks settled and well-balanced.

South Africa:
1. Aiden Markram
2. Ryan Rickleton
3. Wiaan Mulder
4. Temba Bavuma[C]
5. Tristan Stubbs
6. David Bedingham
7. Kyle Verreynne[wk]
8. Marco Jansen
9. Keshav Maharaj
10. Kagiso Rabada
11. Lungi Ngidi
Mulder's promotion to No.3 has paved the way for Stubbs batting at No.5.
Mulder's role along with the openers could be to bat as long as possible to soften the ball which will lay a platform for the likes of Stubbs, Bedinghan, and Verreyne. The batting order with captain Bavuma looks good but will be interesting to watch how Mulder adapts to the No.3 role. Bedingham, who was the highest run-scorer in the County last year with 1331 runs would want to replicate the same performance in this one-off test for his nation.
Rabada's fiesty pace, Jansen's lethal swing, and Maharaj's spin along with Mulder's medium pace and Markram and Stubbs's handy off-break could be the turning point of the match.
The only concern is Ngidi as for the matches he has played ... he has only bowled 12-14 overs per innings which is less and could tire out Rabada and Jansen if Australia bats long and Ngidi repeats the same pattern.
All in all, apart from the concern of Ngidi's overs.. this South African side looks settled and Confident to Bring glory to their nation.

 

 

 

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