The Australian men's cricket team is still in search of a permanent batter who can take the opening slot permanently, like David Warner. When Warner was active in international cricket, Cricket Australia had to think much less about the opening position.

After his retirement, the position became a puzzle for the board, which is yet to be solved. There were multiple speculations regarding the opening pair of Pat Cummins' team. They have multiple players who can open. As it is about the summit clash for the World Test Championship title (WTC Final), the playing combination tends to be perfect.

So, the Australia team management opted to leave young Sam Konstas out of the equation, and they chose experienced Marnus Labuschagne to pair up with Usman Khawaja. Labuschagne offers stability, and Sam offers the X-factor. Cricket Australia ticked on the stability option.

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Cummins explained about their opening pair

During the pre-match press conference, the Aussie skipper explained the decision by saying, "It’s something the selectors are always weighing up. Realistically, he’s really young and has a long career ahead of him. So hopefully, even if he’s not playing, being in the squad is a learning opportunity."

Konstas was left out also during Australia's Test assignment against Sri Lanka. The promising batter's struggle to make a place in the playing combination continues.

AUS vs. SA Playing XIs for WTC 2025 Final:

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

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, and Lungi Ngidi.