The countdown for the upcoming World Test Championship (WTC) Final clash draws to a close as South Africa and Australia gear up for a mouthwatering showdown at the Lord's Cricket Ground on June 11. While Australia have already made it to the WTF final once, for South Africa, it remains an unfamiliar territory. 

However, South Africa's chances of triumphing in the summit clash have been bolstered following the inclusion of Stuart Broad, who will act as a bowling consultant for the Proteas. Broad will take part in South Africa's preparatory work starting from June 9, just prior to the kick-off of the WTC Final. This will also be his first coaching assignment since his international retirement in 2023.

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Broad's experience holds key to SA's success 

The legendary English seamer has a wealth of experience in red-ball cricket, a format in which he thrived the most. Across 164 Test outings, Broad emerged as the second-highest wicket-taker for England in red-ball cricket with 604 scalps under his kitty. The legendary paceman trails marginally behind his own teammate, Jimmy Anderson. 

During his prime days, Broad used to be a thorn in the side of the Australian team. He went on to bag 153 wickets against the Aussies, the most by any player in Test cricket history. Besides, he has also claimed over 100 Test scalps at Lord's as well, making him one of the most revered bowling personalities in international cricket. 

Broad's expertise will prove vital for the South African team as he has first-hand experience in operating under these conditions. Under his guidance, South Africa can benefit the most and would have high hopes of dethroning Australia in the upcoming WTC final.

In a significant development ahead of the resumption of IPL 2025, Cricket Australia (CA) has officially addressed the uncertainty surrounding its players’ participation in the remaining matches of the tournament. The IPL, which was abruptly suspended on May 9 due to the military conflict between India and Pakistan, is now scheduled to resume on May 17, with the final slated for June 3.

Amid rising tensions in the subcontinent, CA’s latest statement provides clarity while also offering flexibility. "Cricket Australia will support players in their individual decisions whether to return to India or not,” the board said on Tuesday, May 13. “Team management will work through preparation implications for the World Test Championship final for those players who choose to play in the remaining IPL matches."

With the WTC final between Australia and South Africa scheduled for June 11 at Lord’s just eight days after the IPL final several top Australian cricketers face a tough call. CA’s relaxed stance indicates that it will not enforce a blanket rule, instead allowing players to weigh their own fitness and security concerns.

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Australian Players Uncertain After IPL Suspension Amid Security Concerns

The situation is complicated by the fact that some Australian players were reportedly “shaken” by the India-Pakistan military clash that triggered the IPL suspension. While players such as Pat Cummins and Travis Head (both Sunrisers Hyderabad) are no longer in playoff contention, others like Mitchell Starc (Delhi Capitals), Josh Hazlewood (Royal Challengers Bengaluru), and Josh Inglis (Punjab Kings) remain integral to their teams' campaigns.

CRICKET AUSTRALIA STATEMENT:

"CA will support players in their individual decisions whether to return for the IPL or not.

Team management will work through preparation implications for the WTC Final for players who choose to play the remaining IPL matches". 🇮🇳

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) May 13, 2025

Hazlewood, in particular, is believed to be nursing a shoulder injury and may choose to sit out the remainder of the IPL to fully recover ahead of the WTC final.

Most Australian players have returned home since the IPL’s suspension, with only a handful of support staff such as Ricky Ponting and Brad Haddin staying back in India. Coaches Justin Langer and Mike Hussey have also flown back due to security concerns.

As the BCCI prepares to host the rest of the season across six venues, the participation of Australian stars will remain a key talking point, both from a team perspective and with an eye on the looming WTC final.

World Test Championship of this cycle coming to an end by this june where South Africa and Australia are going to play the final in the lords ground in England which is considered as the Mecca of Cricket. Already there are many speculation are around that the WTC cycle is totally unfair which helps only certain teams to play against each other but the rest feel to be left out. 

This has been the case which aroused in second WTC cycle as first one was the testing phase that how the dilema works out and reciprocate to people as we have seen in this fast pace world where eveything has been speed up then how would test cricket survive so long but its the ultimate warrior of an crickter which tests the determination and the grid of the player under the difficult circumstances. 

Read More: Micheal Clarke Admits Jasprit Bumrah Is An Absolute Freak

The Rise of World Test Championship 

Cricket has inspired many of young people and attracted them with the leagues which give lucarative amounts where intrerest for red ball has been gone down and to counter that ICC had decide and had to come up with an new idea, because  the leagues played in all around the world fulfills the demands of the player and kills the competitiveness of the game. 

Already its been said that cricket has dead way before because due to the course of lot of changes in the upcoming era where viewership is considered as the most. So ICC came up with an idea of ICC world test championship where it's based on cycle based system where each test playing nation will play against each other and the final two with higher percentage of points margin will move onto final. 

The Drawbacks And The Solution For Remedy

When the WTC cycle format was started it possessed great interest to the people it's like a World Cup you play against a test nation with away and home games till now its the third WTC cycle the problem here is the points where the visiting doesn't get any advantage of any away points and extra points for the series win and the next was not every teams play against each other so it demands how fair the event been conducted where only some of the big teams only get to compete with each other and rest of them are left out. And the next one was why only lords were to be chosen as the final venue. 

Read More: Riyan Parag Appointment As Captain Creates Amid Backlash From Public

Well ICC has come up with some changes after the end of this WTC cycle where they will extra points to the visiting teams for the series win and the second one to enhance the competitiveness they will come up enganging every team to have an roll where every team to get the equal series of match to get good quality of cricket. 

India's team felt no great happiness out of the ICC World Test Championship because they couldn't make it to the final. They ended their run in a disappointment, losing the fifth test to Australia in Sydney on Sunday. Australia kept the Border-Gavaskar Trophy by taking the series 3-1. For the first time in ten years, India had to watch the trophy go to someone else in this manner.

Australia won in Sydney and made it to the WTC final again. Now, they will have a match against South Africa at Lord's Cricket Ground, from July 11 to 15, 2025. They are preparing for an important game against South Africa. Beating India in the 2023 WTC final at The Oval with Pat Cummins as their leader shows Australia has been doing great during the time.

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After beating India, Australia moved up in the WTC standings, going from a points percentage of 61.45% to 63.72%, ensuring they stayed in first place. Afterward, India's points percentage dropped to 50.00% from 52.77%, which put them in third place, even though they've lost eight times in the current WTC cycle. Especially after not doing well lately, India's chances to make it to their third straight WTC final are completely spoiled.This terrible series for them included getting swept 0-3 by New Zealand at their own location last November and facing six more losses right after that.

Australia and South Africa are going to have a strikingly large first neutral Test match at Lord's in the WTC final. When it comes to their past games in Test cricket, Australia boasts more wins with 54, while South Africa has won 26 times. The match at the famous ground is turning into a very exciting battle between these two top cricket teams.Everyone's excited because Australia is extremely strong and South Africa won't back down, making the end of the WTC very exciting. They're going to face off at Lord's and both want to seal a historic win, which means cricket fans everywhere should expect something very exciting.

Updated ICC World Test Championship Points Table

• (Q) - Qualified for the final
• (E) - Eliminated from the final race
• PCT - Points Percentage

With less than 24 hours to go for the Gabba Test, Australia have revealed their playing eleven. The hosts make a solitary change by dropping Scott Boland who will make way for Josh Hazlewood. The Australian skipper Pat Cummins confirmed that the ace pacer has regained his fitness after suffering an injury in the first Test and is ready to hit the ground running in Brisbane. 

It was by no means a straightforward decision for the management to make. Hazlewood was sidelined from the Adelaide Test after picking up a side injury. Coming in as his replacement, Scott Boland played an instrumental role with the ball to power Australia to a thumping 10-wicket win helping his side level the series 1-1. 

See also: Marsh available to deliver with the ball in Gabba Test

Cummins sheds light on Hazlewood's selection over Boland

Despite his promising exploits in Adelaide which saw him get rid of Jaiswal, Kohli, Gill, and Rohit, Boland was forced to make way at the expense of Hazlewood. The New South Wales bowler has had to cope with a myriad of injuries throughout his career and the selectors had to mindful of reintroducing him too quickly for the second Test.

But during his conversation with the reporters on Friday, Cummins stated that he is happy to see the way things are shaping up for Hazlewood after the injury. The quick was put through the paces in Adelaide and both the skipper and the medical staff are pleased with how he is hold up.

"He's had no hiccups. He had a really good bowl yesterday, he had another bowl in Adelaide a couple of days previously. Him and the medical team are really confident."

However, Cummins does not rule out the possibility of not having Boland feature for the remainder of the Test series. Boland had been away from the international scene for an eternity but despite his long absence, Cummins thinks highly of him. The Australian skipper hopes to see him in action and play a decisive role at some point in the series. 

"It’s tough. He was fantastic in Adelaide and unfortunately, he’s spent quite a lot of time on the bench in the last 18 months and whenever he plays he’s fantastic. It’s a shame for Scotty but there’s still a fair bit to play out this series so I’ll be surprised if he doesn’t get another crack at some point."

Australia's playing eleven for the third Test

Usman Khawaja, Nathan McSweeney, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Mitch Marsh, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood

South African-born Kiwi batter Devon Conway is all set to be excluded from the third Test between New Zealand and England scheduled to take place in Hamilton on 14 December. The opener will stay in Wellington where his side suffered a brutal 323-run drubbing in the second Test and will remain with his family to see the birth of his newborn child. 

See also: Adelaide Test, Day 3: Australia bounce back in the series with 10-wicket win

Mark Chapman comes in as his replacement

Ahead of the third and final Test, New Zealand have roped in Auckland Aces batter Mark Chapman. The 30-year-old holds a healthy batting average of 46.14 in FC cricket with seven centuries under his belt. Champan is yet to make an appearance for New Zealand in the longest format.

New Zealand coach Gary Stead was in full support of Conway and expects him to make the most of his quality time with his family on this auspicious occasion. Moreover, he also heaped praise on Champan who has been in the midst of a remarkable run in the ongoing Plunket Shield tournament. 

"Family comes first in this environment and we're all really excited for Dev and his wife Kim to welcome their first child. Mark was with the Test squad in India recently and returned to the Plunket Shield by scoring an impressive 276 - so it's a good time for him to be joining us."

An opportunity for Will Young to return to the fore

It came as a surprise to many when the New Zealand squad was announced prior to the Test series. The omission of Young who averaged nearly 49 and was adjudged Player of the Series in New Zealand's historic Test series win over India raised quite a few eyebrows.

Unfortunately, he had to make way for Williamson who fully regained his fitness right before the start of the home Test series. He made a resounding impact upon his return becoming the leading run scorer for his side with 195 runs to his name at an average of 48.75. New Zealand have already surrendered to England in this series by a margin of 0-2. The Black Caps will have one last chance to salvage their lost pride in the upcoming Hamilton Test which is expected to commence later this week. 

Runs galore in the first Test at Christchurch as England dominated the Black Caps and registered a thumping victory on the back of a breathtaking knock from Harry Brook. Brook's counter-attacking 171 set the foundation for an emphatic eight-wicket win in the second innings as England managed to chase down 104 in just under 15 overs.

After playing that match-winning innings, the 25-year-old Englishman has moved up by two spots to no.2 position in the ICC Test Batting rankings. And by doing so, the dazzling top-order English batsman has bridged the gap between him and Joe Root who is currently at the top of the table with a rating of 895. Moreover, after bettering his rating to 854, the difference between him and Root is now down to just 41.

See also: New Zealand receive another huge blow in WTC points table

Yashasvi Jaiswal loses his no.2 position to Harry Brook

Brook has emerged as someone who can go close to challenging Joe Root's dominance at the top. Jaiswal's heroics at Perth in the second innings (161) propelled the dashing opener to the second position. However, the considerable gap between the first and the second Test opened a window of opportunity for Brook to make some rapid gains.

Following Brook's blistering batting show in Hagley Oval, Jaiswal was displaced from the no.2 position and slipped two more spots down the rankings at no.4. The start Kiwi batter Kane Williamson managed to hold on to the third position by scoring an impressive 93 & 61 upon his comeback. 

 

 

 

 

 

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Gains for the other batters

Apart from the ongoing BGT 2024-25 & England-New Zealand Test series, the recently concluded first Test between South Africa and Sri Lanka in Durban also produced some extraordinary batting performances. 

The Proteas skipper Temba Bavuma led his side from the front by playing a gutsy innings of 70 on a difficult seaming wicket followed by a sensational ton in the second innings which virtually decided the match in his side's favor. On the back of that performance, Bavuma managed to break into the top 10 of the ICC Men's Test batting rankings.

Tristan Stubbs' brilliant 122 in the second innings catapulted him by 29 spots to no.42 position in the batting table. On the other hand, Dinesh Chandimal of Sri Lanka rose by two places to the 17th spot as a result of his resilient second-innings 83.

Following the conclusion of the first Test between England and New Zealand, both teams were docked three WTC points and 15% of their match fees for maintaining slow over rates during the Hagley Oval test. 

England captain and all-rounder Ben Stokes was left confused after his side incurred a loss of WTC points despite finishing the game 10 hours earlier than the scheduled cessation time. 

See also: New Zealand receive another huge blow in WTC points table

So what's all the fuss about? 

Prior to the build-up to the first Test, Stokes claimed that he was overly confused by the whole idea of WTC and labeled it as "utterly confusing". Furthermore, the marquee all-rounder also added that he never gave the notion of the WTC enough consideration. 

England finished fourth in the earlier edition of the WTC cycle and are currently ranked sixth in the ongoing WTC edition meaning that they will miss their spot for the finals a second straight time. 

Stokes took to his Instagram handle to respond to the sanctions from the ICC. Writing on his Instagram story, Stokes took a humorous swipe at them by stating the following:

"Good on you ICC. Finished the game with 10 hours of play still left."

After losing 19 of the 28 points they earned during the 2023 Ashes series, England has now been punished 22 WTC points in the 2023–25 cycle for their slow over-rates. In the aftermath of the first Test, both teams were found guilty of being behind by three overs even after taking time allowances into consideration. 

Where do the two teams stand now in the 2023-25 WTC points table?

The implementation of slow over-rate penalties has done more harm than good to New Zealand who were coming off after registering a famous test series sweep against India. The defeat has now tarnished their WTC aspirations as the Black Caps slipped from fourth to fifth position in the points table and can only move as high as 55.36% with wins from their remaining two fixtures in the series.

England on the other hand, are all but out of the WTC Final race but have bettered their standing slightly by moving to the sixth position. 

While the race for the final two spots in the 2023-2025 ICC World Test Championship points table is becoming a thriller as time progresses, New Zealand have recently received two huge blows. After losing their first game in a three-match home Test series against England, they now received another blow in the points table. 

Christchurch hosted the Test series opener between New Zealand and England, where England won by eight wickets. While New Zealand climbed to a challenging position in the ongoing WTC cycle points table after their historic whitewash against the hosts India in the three-match Test series, the Christchurch defeat was a blow for the Blackcaps, who are battling for the next WTC final. 

See Also: Bangladesh ODI squad announced for West Indies tour without major senior names

England and New Zealand suffer three-point deduction

For maintaining a slow over-rate in the Christchurch Test, both England and New Zealand have been handed a deduction of three points each in the WTC points table and penalised 15 percent of the match fees from all players of the match. 

During the Christchurch Test, both teams were three overs short of the target after time allowances were taken into consideration. New Zealand captain Tom Latham and England captain Ben Stokes both have accepted the proposed sanction, which means that there is no need for a formal hearing. 

Despite the Christchurch Test win, England are out of contention for the next WTC final. They have earned 102 points in 20 games in this WTC cycle, while they also faced a total of 22 points deduction due to slow over rate. Their latest points percentage is 42.50, and they are standing in sixth place, just below New Zealand. 

After losing the Christchurch Test, the inaugural WTC winners New Zealand were struggling in joint fourth place with 72 points after 12 Tests, and the points percentage was 50.00, similar to Sri Lanka. Due to the latest deduction of three points, the Blackcaps slipped to fifth place with a points percentage of 47.92 (69 points).

India, South Africa, and Australia are the present top three

India are leading the ongoing WTC cycle points table with 110 points after 15 Tests with a points percentage of 61.11. South Africa have climbed to second place with a points percentage of 59.26 (64 points) after winning the Durban Test against Sri Lanka by 233 runs. Meanwhile, the defending champions Australia, are in third place with a points percentage of 57.69 (90 points).

Jaspirt Bumrah-led Indian side handed Australia their second-biggest Test defeat in terms of margin at the Optus Stadium in Perth. The 295-run defeat also marked the end of Australia's unbeaten run at that venue. 

The spirited performance from the visitors has sent shockwaves which as a result, has attracted sharp criticism from fans and leading cricketing experts from the country.  However, many are of the opinion that there are signs of a growing amount of discontent within the Australian players in the dressing room. 

A divide between the Australian batters and bowlers

The signs of a potential rift first came to light when Australian pacer Josh Hazlewood was asked about his side's approach in the first Test. He shockingly attributed the team's downfall to the batters who severely underperformed in the first innings. 

Many cricketing legends such as Adam Gilchrist were not amused with Josh's statement and indicated that a divide between the batters and the bowlers in the dressing room can really be detrimental to the team's success for the remainder of the series. 

Pat Cummins puts these theories to rest

Amidst deteriorating ties in the dressing room, the Aussie skipper Pat Cummins brushed all the claims of a possible rift aside stating that the unit is together and that the players “look after each other.”

In an interview with ABC Sports, Cummins reiterated that despite the horrendous defeat in the first Test, his side remains the top-ranked team in world cricket and vows to make a strong comeback in the second Test.

“We look after each other. There’s plenty of games where the batters drag us out of sticky situations and likewise, we do the opposite. So yeah, it’s such a great bunch. We get on really well. We challenge each other. We will stick firm; I think we are still the no.1 ranked side in the world, so this week doesn’t change that.”

India's dominant win at Perth has set the wheels in motion for the tourists. But they must brace themselves to face the hosts in the upcoming day/night Test at Adelaide starting on December 6. Australia are yet to be beaten in a D/N Test and India will have to be at the top of their mark once again to negate the impending threat. 

See also: Watch: Jasprit Bumrah gets a special name from Aussie commentators