Stuart Broad to join South Africa coaching staff ahead of WTC Final vs Australia
Australia will have a familiar foe in the opposition camp when they face South Africa in the World Test Championship Final as former England pacer Stuart Broad will join the Proteas squad as a consultant for the match. The International Cricket Council (ICC) has said that Broad will attend South Africa's training session on June 9 at Lord's.
Broad had ended his illustrious playing career with England in July 2023, retiring as the fifth most prolific Test wicket-taker and the second most succesfull fast bowler of all time in the format. This will be his first coaching role since then. Broad took 604 wickets in 167 Tests, second on England's all-time list, of which he took 153 of those against Australia, the most by any player in red-ball history. The fast bowler also boasts a strong record at Lord's, taking 113 wickets in 28 Test matches. The WTC Final is set to be played at the iconic ground from June 11 to 15.
Meanwhile, the South African men's team have arrived in the United Kingdom for the match and will face Zimbabwe in a four-day warm-up match at the Arundel Castle Cricket Ground in Sussex from Tuesday. Zimbabwe had earlier faced England last month in one-off Test at Trent Bridge, which they lost by an innings and 45 runs. South Africa later play two Tests against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo after the WTC Final.
Australia are the defending champions, having beaten India in the 2023 WTC Final by 209 runs at The Oval. Additionally, this is the first WTC Final to not feature India, with the team losing the first ever edition of the marquee Test in 2019 to New Zealand. India were among the favourites to reach a third final at the start of their home Test season late last year. However, their progression was derailed by a shocking 3-0 whitewash at the hands of New Zealand at home, which ended a streak of home Test series wins that lasted more than a decade. A subsequent 3-1 defeat in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia put paid to India's chances while South Africa's series wins in Bangladesh, coupled by home series wins against Sri Lanka and Pakistan helped them book a maiden spot in the WTC Final.
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