Cricket Australia has named its squad for the World Test Championship Final against South Africa, set to take place at Lord’s starting June 11. Pat Cummins will be the captain, with Josh Hazlewood and Cameron Green returning to the team. Steve Smith will serve as vice-captain. Green makes his comeback after more than a year recovering from back surgery.
The team is strong, featuring Cummins and Hazlewood, along with pacers Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland, and spinners Nathan Lyon and Matt Kuhnemann. Josh Inglis will back up wicketkeeper Alex Carey, while Brendan Doggett will join as a reserve. This 15-player squad will also head to the Caribbean for a three-match series against the West Indies starting June 26.
Selection Chair George Bailey thinks Australia has a solid lineup and feels good about their chances of winning another World Test Championship title. He mentioned how the team wrapped up the last WTC cycle with a great series win in Sri Lanka, following a strong performance against India.
Bailey said reaching the final means a lot to the players, and they’re eager for the challenge that South Africa will bring at Lord’s. Australia might make changes to the squad before the final, but they’ll need the ICC Event Technical Committee’s approval for that.
Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Matt Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster. Travelling reserve: Brendan Doggett
