South Africa will clash against Australia in the 2025 ICC World Test Championship (WTC) Final at the illustrious Lord’s Cricket Ground in London. Australia will play as the defending champions after defeating India in the 2023 WTC final at The Oval. For South Africa, this will be their first time playing in a WTC Final, a historic moment for the Proteas.

While Australia is considered the favorite with a strong record, South Africa is close behind and has a chance to make history. Both teams took some important decisions when they announced their respective playing XIs, especially regarding their bowlers. In South Africa, Ryan worked with Lungi Ngidi over Dane Paterson, while Australia chose Josh Hazlewood over Scott Boland, and the biggest talking points will be moving Wiaan Mulder and Cameron Green to No. 3 for their teams.

Australia will enjoy a dominant record in head-to-head matches with 54 wins compared to South Africa’s 26 wins. South Africa has had more consistency in recent years, and this could be an even contest.

SA vs AUS, WTC 2025 Final—Toss Result

South Africa won the toss and decided to bowl first in the final. Speaking after the toss, captain Temba Bavuma said:

"We will bowl first. The surface looks like a good one. Overhead conditions dictate that we will bowl first. We will look to make inroads early on. Happy. I think we have selected the best team for these conditions. Massive. All of us have been confident. Being in the final, that’s what we wanted to do. It should be a spectacle of a game."

Australian captain Pat Cummins stated that he was happy to bat first.

SA vs AUS, WTC 2025 Final - Match playing XIs

South Africa: Ryan Rickelton, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Temba Bavuma (c), Tristan Stubbs, David Bedingham, Kyle Verreynne (wk), Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi.

Australia: Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Cameron Green, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Beau Webster, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood.

SA vs AUS, WTC 2025 Final—Pitch Report

Nasser Hussain and Stuart Broad shared their assessment of the Lord’s pitch:

“It is cloudy, but there’s a very slight chance of rain. The pitch will play really nicely—it looks like a nice surface, and it should be great to bat on Day 2. It's a big decision to make at the toss for the captains, given the cloud cover.”

The initial cloudiness makes bowling first a logical option, but batting conditions are expected to improve from Day 2 onward, creating an intriguing balance for the rest of the Test.

Also Read: WTC Final 2025, Australia vs South Africa: Live streaming, timing, venue and squad details

SA vs AUS, WTC 2025 Final—Match players list 

South Africa squad: Ryan Rickelton, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Temba Bavuma (c), Tristan Stubbs, David Bedingham, Kyle Verreynne (wk), Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Dane Paterson, Tony de Zorzi, Corbin Bosch, and Senuran Muthusamy.

Australia squad: Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Cameron Green, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Beau Webster, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood, Scott Boland, Josh Inglis, Sam Konstas, Matthew Kuhnemann.

Match Umpires and Officials

• On-field Umpires: Chris Gaffaney, Richard Illingworth
• TV Umpire: Richard Kettleborough
• Match Referee: Javagal Srinath