South Africa playing XI for WTC Final against Australia announced, Wiaan Mulder takes No.3

South Africa National Cricket Team captain Temba Bavuma has, on Tuesday, June 10, confirmed the playing XI for the highly anticipated ICC World Test Championship (WTC) Final 2025 against the Australia National Cricket Team, starting on Monday, June 11, at the iconic Lord’s Cricket Ground.

While Australia aims to defend their WTC title, South Africans are keen to script history at Lord’s, eyeing their maiden ICC title in more than two decades. Well, the Proteas have picked a power-packed lineup for the historic clash against the mighty Australians.

Wiaan Mulder to bat at No.3 for South Africa in WTC Final 2025 against Australia

South Africa’s top order will be handled by their star all-rounder Aiden Markram and top scorer of the last WTC cycle, Ryan Rickelton. However, the Proteas surprised many by promoting the all-rounder Wiaan Mulder to the number three spot despite his having only 18 Test experiences.

SHORTS

View More

Your daily dose of cricket!

Loading...

Read Also: South Africa vs Australia Match Preview- WTC Final 2025

Explaining the decision, the skipper Temba Bavuma was quoted as saying by ICC, “Mulder is quite young in that position. But I think having played with Mulder and having seen him and the way he has grown in the last two years within the red-ball format.”

Bavuma added, “It's about giving him a lot more confidence, keeping backing him, and just allowing him to do what he does best. He has an opportunity in a pressure situation, but I think he can take comfort from the fact that the guys are backing him. We just want him to play his game.”

The Proteas captain usually bats at number four, while the young batting sensation Tristan Stubbs will bat at number five, followed by another in-form star, David Bedingham, at number six. Kyle Verrynne will handle the wicketkeeping job and bat at number seven.

Proteas name three pacers and one spinner to handle Australian batters

Meanwhile, the South African team has picked Kagiso Rabada, Marco Jansen, and Lungi Ngidi in their pace attack, while there is only one spin specialist, Keshav Maharaj, in the playing XI for the WTC Final 2025 against the experienced Kangaroos.

Read Also: Irfan Pathan returns as full list of commentators for England vs India Test series announced

Well, Proteas had Dane Paterson in their squad, but they go ahead with Ngidi. Bavuma explained the reasoning behind opting for Ngidi. The skipper explained that it was a tough call while citing the tactical reasons. He mentioned Ngidi's pace, height, and better record.

He also noted Ngidi's experience at Lord's and how Mulder offers similar skills to Paterson, which played a key role in their decision. The skipper further explained, “It was more from a tactical point of view. Probably a little bit more pace from Lungi; guess he's a bit taller as well.”

He signed off by saying, “Lungi also has a better record, not taking anything away from Patto. He (Ngidi) has the experience; he's played here before, not that Patto hasn't. But I think he (Ngidi) will complement that bowling attack a little more. We have a guy like Mulder, who can give us something similar to Patto.”

South Africa playing XI for WTC Final 2025:

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