Cricket South Africa (CSA) announced a 15-member South Africa squad for the upcoming ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia, which is scheduled to take place from June 11 to 15 at the iconic Lord’s Cricket Ground in London. Speedster Kagiso Rabada who served a one-month suspension for a recent positive dope test, will mark his return just in team for the summit clash.
Apart from Rabada, Lungi Ngidi will also be a part of South Africa's pace battery after making a successful comeback from injury. oung seamer Kwena Maphaka will make for Ngidi in the squad which also poses the pace threat of Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch and Wiaan Mulder.
Head coach Shukri Conrad believed the outfit covered all bases for South Africa in English conditions.
“Firstly, I want to congratulate each of the players selected for this squad. It is a special moment for this group to contest the WTC Final. Over the past 18 months, we’ve worked hard to build a competitive red-ball unit, and this achievement reflects that progress.
“A key part of our success has been consistency in selection, and we’ve stuck with the core group of players who have been part of this WTC cycle. We’ve selected a balanced squad for the conditions we expect at Lord’s.”
This is the first time that South Africa has managed to qualify for the summit clash in three cycles. Temba Bavuma, who got injured, is all set to lead the side. He played 12 Tests during the league stage across the 2023-25 cycle, South Africa racked up eight wins, three losses and a draw to tally a points percentage (PCT) of 69.44. While the Saffers topped the table, Australia finished second with a 67.54 PCT.
South Africa squad for WTC final: Temba Bavuma (c), Aiden Markram, Lungi Ngidi, Tony di Zorsi, David Bedingham, Keshav Maharaj, Tristan Stubbs, Corbin Bosch, Senuran Muthusamy, Marco Jansen, Kagiso Rabada, Kyle Verreyne, Dane Paterson, Wiaan Mulder, Ryan Rickelton.