Australia's Smith fears South Africa pace attack in WTC final
Reigning champions Australia, who beat India in the WTC final in 2023, are favourites against the Proteas in the five-day match, which starts on Wednesday.
"South Africa have a particularly good bowling attack led by Kagiso Rabada, his record speaks for itself. Marco Jansen -- they are a good side, they are here for a reason," Smith said on Monday.
Rabada, 30, has taken 327 wickets at an average of 22 while Jansen, 25, has 73 wickets at 21.76 in his 17 matches.
But former Australia Test captain Smith has a superb Test record at London's Lord's ground, with 525 runs in five matches, including two hundreds, at an average of 58.33.
"It's a nice place to bat," said the 36-year-old. "Personally I've had a bit of success here. "It takes a bit of time getting used to the slope, one end thinking you are falling over, the other you feel a bit tall.
"It's a nice wicket to bat on but can change with the overheads, the ball swinging around, can get a bit tricky."
Smith's career was almost derailed by his involvement in a 2018 ball-tampering scandal against South Africa in Cape Town.
But he said relations between the two teams were now "pretty relaxed".
There have been suggestions the WTC final should be played over several games rather than being just a one-off match.
"Maybe a three-match series would be good but good luck fitting it in the schedule, it's pretty jam-packed as it is," said Smith.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
France 24
8 hours ago
- France 24
Dhoni, Amla and Graeme Smith added to ICC Hall of Fame
Also included were Australia's Matthew Hayden and New Zealand's Daniel Vettori, with former Pakistan captain Sana Mir and England's Sarah Taylor recognised for their contributions to the women's game. The induction ceremony took place at London's Abbey Road Studios, where the Beatles recorded many of their hit songs. Abbey Road is just a short walk from Lord's, where the World Test Championship final starts on Wednesday and both captains were among the audience - Australia's Pat Cummins and South Africa's Temba Bavuma. Former India captain Dhoni led his country to 2011 one-day international World Cup glory on home soil, the wicketkeeper-batsman hitting the winning runs on a memorable night in Mumbai. He is also the only captain to have won all three ICC white-ball trophies, after skippering India to the inaugural 2007 T20 World Cup title as well as the 2013 Champions Trophy. Dhoni finished his ODI career with an average above 50, having played 350 matches and scored over 10,000 runs -- often expertly helming a run-chase. "It is an honour to be named in the ICC Hall of Fame, which recognises the contributions of cricketers across generations and from all over the world," said Dhoni, who featured in this year's Indian Premier League aged 43. 'Proud moment' The stylish Amla was the first South Africa batsman to score a Test-match triple century, making 311 not out against England at the Oval in 2012. He often found himself playing alongside Smith. Thrust into the captaincy aged just 22, Smith led South Africa in a world-record 109 Tests, with the former opening batsman the only player to captain a Test team for over 100 matches. "It is an honour to be inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame, especially alongside Graeme," Amla said. Smith added: "This is also a proud moment for South Africa, as two of us have got recognition this year." Hayden was a mainstay of Australia's dominant sides of the early 2000s, with the powerful opener scoring 30 Test centuries and averaging above 50. Former left-arm spinner Vettori, now an assistant coach with Australia, is one of only three players to score 4,000 runs and take 300 wickets in Tests. Wicket-keeping great Taylor helped England win several global titles, including a 2017 ODI World Cup on home soil, while Mir is the first woman from Pakistan to be included in the Hall of Fame. Off-spinner Mir took 151 ODI wickets and led Pakistan to two Asian Games gold medals, in 2010 and 2014. "From dreaming as a little girl that one day there would even be a women's team in our country to now standing here, inducted among the very legends I idolised long before I ever held a bat or a ball -- this is a moment I couldn't have dared to imagine," Mir said.
France 24
14 hours ago
- France 24
Australia's Smith fears South Africa pace attack in WTC final
Reigning champions Australia, who beat India in the WTC final in 2023, are favourites against the Proteas in the five-day match, which starts on Wednesday. "South Africa have a particularly good bowling attack led by Kagiso Rabada, his record speaks for itself. Marco Jansen -- they are a good side, they are here for a reason," Smith said on Monday. Rabada, 30, has taken 327 wickets at an average of 22 while Jansen, 25, has 73 wickets at 21.76 in his 17 matches. But former Australia Test captain Smith has a superb Test record at London's Lord's ground, with 525 runs in five matches, including two hundreds, at an average of 58.33. "It's a nice place to bat," said the 36-year-old. "Personally I've had a bit of success here. "It takes a bit of time getting used to the slope, one end thinking you are falling over, the other you feel a bit tall. "It's a nice wicket to bat on but can change with the overheads, the ball swinging around, can get a bit tricky." Smith's career was almost derailed by his involvement in a 2018 ball-tampering scandal against South Africa in Cape Town. But he said relations between the two teams were now "pretty relaxed". There have been suggestions the WTC final should be played over several games rather than being just a one-off match. "Maybe a three-match series would be good but good luck fitting it in the schedule, it's pretty jam-packed as it is," said Smith.
France 24
a day ago
- France 24
'Flawed' Test Championship reveals world cricket's underlying problems
Wisden, cricket's 'bible', was scathing in its assessment, with editor Lawrence Booth writing in this year's edition that the WTC is a "shambles masquerading as a showpiece". Meanwhile, former England captain Michael Atherton said "everyone knows the WTC in its present guise is flawed". One fundamental problem is that political tensions mean India and Pakistan, two of cricket's leading nations, have not played a Test against each other since 2007. The nine-nation WTC is further skewed because the teams are not being required to face each other or to play the same number of matches, unlike most sports leagues. Countries are free to decide how many Tests they would like to play in the two-year qualifying cycle -- something Booth wants doubled to four years, with the top nine in the rankings all playing each other, home and away, over series that last at least three Tests. Positions are calculated on the percentage of available points won by teams. South Africa have played just 12 Tests in the current cycle -- all of them two-match series -- compared to England's 22 -- and have not played either England or Australia. South Africa also sent a third-string side to New Zealand in early 2024, and lost. It kept its best players at home to appear in its domestic T20 competition. That was a financial sign of the times, as is Cricket South Africa not scheduling any home Tests for 2025/26. 'South Africa didn't beat nobodies' South Africa reeled off six straight wins to book their place in this year's final, only for former England captain Michael Vaughan to say they had got there "on the back of beating pretty much nobody". But Proteas coach Shukri Conrad objected that South Africa had beaten teams who had beaten the 'Big Three' of India, Australia and England. "One of the nobodies we beat won a Test match in Australia -- West Indies beat Australia in a Test match. They are not nobody," insisted Conrad. "New Zealand beat India: three-zip in India. New Zealand is not a nobody. "Sri Lanka won Test matches (against England and New Zealand).I don't buy this thing about us beating nobody." Victory in the final would be a boost to South Africa following years of hurt in ICC white-ball tournaments, with Conrad saying after qualification was secured. "I'm never going to apologise for getting into the final. "It's the biggest thing in this team's existence. It's the biggest thing for South African cricket at the moment." One of those involved in devising the points system, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP: "It's difficult to come up with a solution where everyone is happy given the barriers to an 'orthodox' table that exist, such as the India-Pakistan situation. "Commercial considerations will also mean the 'Big Three' will want to play each other in five-Test series." He added this was just as much a choice as England incurring the over-rate penalties that hampered their chances -- they've yet to reach a WTC final despite the first three editions all taking place on home soil -- with skipper Ben Stokes almost disdainful in his assessment of an "utterly confusing" format. Yet, New Zealand's win in the inaugural 2021 World Test Championship final was welcomed as a long overdue global triumph for a popular side. Australia's failure to qualify for that match was labelled a "big missed opportunity" by skipper Pat Cummins, who made amends with victory at in an Oval final two years ago. Tthat India were beaten finalists in both the 2021 and 2023 WTC finals indicated there was still a place for the five-day game in world cricket's economic powerhouse, for all T20 events such as the Indian Premier League are the financial driving force. Indeed former India captain and batting star Virat Kohli, speaking after securing his long-awaited first IPL title following Royal Challengers Bengaluru's triumph in last Tuesday's final, said: "If you want to earn respect in world cricket all over, take up Test cricket and give your heart and soul to it."
