Temba Bavuma announces South Africa's playing XI for WTC final vs Australia; RCB speedster gets a look in
South Africa captain Temba Bavuma, on Tuesday, revealed the team's combination for the World Test Championship final against Australia, which will begin on June 11 at the Lord's. The Proteas picked Royal Challengers Bengaluru bowler Lungi Ngidi in the playing XI ahead of the in-form Dane Paterson.
Ngidi will form the bowling line-up alongside Kagiso Rabada, Marco Jansen, and solitary full-time spinner Keshav Maharaj.
"Probably one of the tougher decisions that has been made. We see what Dane Paterson did for us to the end of last season," Bavuma explained the notion behind the Ngidi move. 'But it was more from a tactical point of view. Probably a little bit more pace from Lungi, guess he's a bit taller as well.
"Lungi also has a better record, not taking away anything from Patto. He (Ngidi) has the experience, he's played here before, not that Patto hasn't.
"But I think he (Ngidi) will complement that bowling attack a little more. We have a guy like Mulder, who can give us something similar like Patto.
"It was probably one of the difficult decision we had to make."
Another notable pick in the playing XI was sticking with Wiaan Mulder at No.3 after his recent exploits in the series against Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
"Mulder is quite young in that position. But I think having played with Mulder, having seen him and the way he has grown in the last two years within the red-ball format,' Bavuma said.
'It's about giving him a lot more confidence, keep backing him and just allowing him to do what he does best.
"He has an opportunity in a pressure situation, but I think he can take comfort from the fact that the guys are backing him. We just want him to play his game."
South Africa playing XI: Temba Bavuma (c), Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, Wiaan Mulder, Tristan Stubbs, David Bedingham, Kyle Verrynne, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi.
Since 1991, South Africa has lost just once at Lords, won five and drawn a solitary match, boasting an impressive success ratio. Meanwhile, the defending champions, Australia, have churned out 18 wins from 40 matches, having a detailed view of how the conditions at the venue play out.
Pat Cummins-led Australia will be looking to retain the mace that they claimed after defeating India in the previous edition of the World Test Championship Final at the Oval in June 2023. Australia hasn't lost a Test series in the past two years, winning away in New Zealand and Sri Lanka while retaining the Ashes in England in 2023. They also defeated Pakistan and India at home, along with a draw against the West Indies, to secure a spot in the WTC decider against the Proteas.
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