The finalists for the 2025 World Test Championship have been decided with South Africa facing Australia at Lord’s from June 11. Ahead of the grand final, the war of words has begun with South Africa’s Kagiso Rabada warning his Australian counterparts.
Kagiso Rabada is confident that South Africa will create history at Lord’s and is excited to play the big match. While this will be Australia’s second consecutive WTC final, South Africa will be playing the final for the first time.
It marks a great opportunity for South African cricket, which has seen quite a few ups and downs in recent years since the retirement of its great players. But it seems that the golden days of South Africa are now returning.
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Kagiso Rabada warns against Australia
During a chat with SuperSport, Kagiso Rabada spoke about the prospects of playing the WTC final against Australia. While he expects it to be an intense match, Rabada expressed his confidence of beating Australia.
“It’s actually quite a long way off, but a big occasion like the World Test Championship final makes you do it. South Africa v Australia has always been a keen rivalry because we play quite similar cricket. We play hard – and they are they will come hard against us, and we know that,” said Kagiso Rabada.
The South African fast bowler hailed the Test format and called it his team’s best format. He was also pleased with the way Test cricket was promoted in the recent series against Pakistan.
“But we also know how to beat them. One hundred percent, Test cricket is still alive. It’s the best format we’re playing right now,” Kagiso Rabada said.
“When you look at South African cricket and all our legends, they were all great cricketers. The best players in the world are Test cricketers and this series against Pakistan was a great advertisement for Test cricket, especially in South Africa.” noted.
Shukri Conrad in the WTC final
Meanwhile, South Africa coach Shukri Conrad hopes to have a Test match scheduled in England that could help his team prepare for the WTC final.
“We’ll try to get a test match, probably in the UK, against an Ireland or Afghanistan, whoever is free. And if we don’t, we’ll obviously go out a couple of days early and make sure we camp there really well, probably Canterbury.” , Conrad said.
Australia have two Tests coming up against Sri Lanka, but South Africa are not scheduled to play any Test matches before the WTC final. However, neither team will play any Tests in English conditions.
Australia are favorites ahead of the grand final
It is likely to be a tight contest between the two best teams of this World Test Championship cycle. The strength of both teams is fast bowling and both have excellent fast bowling options in their ranks.
Australia will start as favourites, given they are already the defending champions and their overall record in knockout matches. But South Africa will be looking at history by winning an ICC title after more than two decades.
2025-01-07 08:07:00
