South Africa on Tuesday unveiled their 15-member squad for the forthcoming ICC World Test Championship final against Australia, to be played at the Lord’s Cricket Ground in London on June 11-15.
Pace spearhead , who served a one-month suspension for a recent positive dope test, will mark his return just in team for the summit clash. The pace set will also be bolstered by the inclusion of Lungi Ngidi, who has made a successful comeback from injury. Young 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.”
Qualifying for the summit clash for the first time in three cycles, the Proteas will be led by Temba Bavuma. Having played in 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.
