'People talk about the top of off stump being the ideal length but...: England's legendary speedster provides WTC finalists with Lord’s blueprint

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'People talk about the top of off stump being the ideal length but...: England's legendary speedster provides WTC finalists with Lord’s blueprint
Former Cricketer Stuart Broad a bowling Consultant for South Africa pictured with Marco Jansen, Lungi Ngidi, Kagiso Rabada and Piet Botha, Bowling Coach of South Africa during a training session ahead of the ICC World Test Championship Final 2025

Story Highlights:

WTC Final will be played between South Africa and Australia.

WTC Final will take place at Lord's stadium from June 11 to 15.

England's legendary speedster James Anderson, who picked up 123 wickets at Lord's in his 29 Test appearances at the iconic London ground, gave huge advice to South Africa and Australia ahead of the World Test Championship (WTC) final, which is scheduled to start from June 11. 

Australia will feature as defending champions, and on the other hand, this is the first time South Africa has managed to secure their berth for the WTC final. South Africa boasting a pace attack that includes Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi and Marco Jansen and Australia is likely to have the Big Three of skipper Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and the ever-consistent Josh Hazlewood in their line-up. 

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"Here is definitely somewhere you need to pitch the ball up," Anderson said during an interaction for the DP World Beyond Boundaries event at Lord's on Monday.

 

"A lot of people talk about the top of off stump being the ideal length, but I think here it's more three-quarters up the stump.

 

"That way you are a little bit fuller in length, so that's my advice for the seamers."

Three players from the top four ICC Test bowler rankings will be seen featuring in the WTC final, with Rabada (second), Cummins (third) and Hazlewood (fourth) currently the closest challenges to India pacer Jasprit Bumrah on the list for Test bowlers.

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Anderson believes that the main bowler in the WTC final will be Kagiso Rabada, and his battle against Steve Smith will be interesting. 

"The main one for me will be Rabada against Steve Smith and I think that could be a really good, interesting battle," Anderson said.

 

"Steve Smith is one of the best batters in the world and Kagiso Rabada is one of my favourite bowlers to watch.

 

"I think he's got so many attributes that just make me want to tune into the TV and watch him. He's a fantastic player, so I'm really looking forward to that battle."

Anderson backed South Africa's decision to appoint his former teammate Stuart Broad as their bowling consultant for the one-off Test. 

"I think it's a smart move from South Africa," Anderson noted.

 

"He's someone who's had great success in English conditions and he knows Lord's in particular.

 

"He knows the ground very well, he's had success here and I think he can give a lot of information and advice to the South African team which will be great from their point of view."