Latest news with #WorldtestChampionship
Hans India
07-06-2025
- Sport
- Hans India
Moody believes Australia hold advantage in WTC final, says ‘winning mentality is ingrained in them'
New Delhi: Former Australia cricket Tom Moody believes that over generations, Australia have thrived under the pressure of high stakes matches and have elevated the game to another level over the years ahead of their World test Championship (WTC) final against South Africa. South Africa and Australia will be playing for the ICC's coveted mace, from June 11 at the Lord's. South Africa are aiming for their first ICC trophy in over two decades while Pat Cummins-led Australia will be looking to retain the mace that they claimed after defeating India in the previous edition of the WTC final at the Oval in June 2023. 'The Australians have built that reputation through consistent success in major tournaments. When it comes to ICC events, Australia somehow elevates their game to another level as a team. They genuinely embrace the challenges of tournament cricket and thrive under the pressure of these high-stakes matches. "It's also about confidence. Historically, many of their players have won multiple ICC tournaments, and they've grown up watching previous generations achieve the same success. That winning mentality is ingrained in them,' Moody said on Star Sports. The Proteas have enjoyed a golden run of ICC event form over the past two years. They reached the ICC Men's World Cup semi-final, the ICC Champions Trophy semi-final, the ICC Men's T20 World Cup final and now the ICC WTC final. Moody believes that Australia hold a slight advantage over South Africa purely on the basis of having more experience in such high-pressure situations. 'You need to trust your instincts and make sure that you sort of cut out the negativity of the fact that you haven't played Test cricket for several months, or you're suddenly turning up in England and you've got completely different conditions. That's the nature of Test cricket, and that's the beauty of Test cricket, being able to adapt and evolve on the move to be able to respond when you need to. So, I think both teams will be very aware of that. I think Australia has got a slight advantage purely because they've played more big matches than South Africa have over recent years,' he added.
IOL News
15-05-2025
- Sport
- IOL News
Enoch Nkwe confirms Proteas Test stars will return from IPL for WTC final preparations
CSA head of national teams Enoch Nkwe insists that the Proteas will have their full schedule to prepare for the World test Championship final against Australia, regardless of the IPL's end date. Photo: BackpagePix Image: BackpagePix Cricket South Africa's (CSA) head of national teams, Enoch Nkwe, clarified on Tuesday – in an exclusive interview with Independent Media – that South Africa's senior national cricket team's Test players will depart India from 26 May to join preparations for the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia. Kagiso Rabada (Gujarat Titans), Aiden Markram (Lucknow Super Giants), Marco Jansen (Punjab Kings), Tristan Stubbs (Delhi Capitals), Lungi Ngidi (Royal Challengers Bengaluru), Wiaan Mulder (Sunrisers Hyderabad), Ryan Rickelton and Corbin Bosch (both Mumbai Indians) are the eight Test players who returned to the IPL after the tournament was suspended last week due to geopolitical instability in the region. The IPL is set to restart on Saturday following the interruption, with the South African players returning to the subcontinent this week to rejoin their respective franchises. Originally scheduled to conclude on May 25, the tournament will now host its final on June 3. The influence of the BCCI and the IPL has raised concerns that the South African contingent may not be released until the tournament's new end date. Should this scenario unfold, it would disrupt the Proteas' preparations for their four-day warm-up fixture against Zimbabwe, which is set to begin on the same day as the IPL final. Nkwe, however, reiterated that, as things currently stand, the players will return on 26 May as originally planned, allowing coach Shukri Conrad's team sufficient preparation time for the WTC final. The 42-year-old added that discussions are ongoing between CSA's CEO, Pholetsi Moseki, the BCCI, and the IPL regarding South Africa's players. CSA CEO Pholetsi Moseki. Photo: Backpagepix Image: Backpagepix 'Nothing has changed, as far as I'm concerned. As we speak, the matter is sitting with the big bosses – between CSA and the BCCI. I know the CEO has been engaging with the IPL as well,' Nkwe said. 'We haven't moved from the original schedule. We are planning accordingly in terms of the final. 'We need days to prepare the guys for the Zimbabwe game, which is the warm-up match, because after that we don't have much time before the final begins.' With most of the Proteas' Test players having last played red-ball cricket during the New Year's Test against Pakistan at Newlands, the squad requires as much preparation time as possible. The World Test Championship final is scheduled to take place from 11 to 15 June at Lord's.
