🏆 ICC World Test Championship Final 2025: Ultimate Guide

 Get ready for the pinnacle of Test cricket—the ICC World Test Championship Final 2025. This blog brings you everything you need to know: teams, squads, history, venue details, officials, key players, prize money, and much more.

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📅 Fixture Overview

• 📍 Venue: Lord’s Cricket Ground, London

• 📅 Dates: June 11–15, 2025 (Reserve Day: June 16) 

• Teams: Australia (defending champions) vs South Africa (first-time finalists) 

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🏟️ Venue: Lord’s “Home of Cricket”

• Historic London ground with ~30,000 capacity 

• Being first-time finalists, South Africa will make their maiden appearance at Lord’s WTC final 

• Match-day facilities include dining, hospitality, shops, accessible services, and transport guidance 

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🏅 Prize Money

• 🏆 Winner’s Purse: USD 3.6 million

• Runner-up: USD 2.16 million 

These amounts represent the highest financial rewards in WTC history 

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🎭 Squads & Key Players

🇦🇺 Australia (Coach: Andrew McDonald)

• Captain: Pat Cummins (c)

• Vice-captain: Steve Smith (vc)

• Batting line-up: Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Sam Konstas, Beau Webster

• Wicketkeepers: Alex Carey, Josh Inglis

• Bowlers: Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Scott Boland, Nathan Lyon, Matt Kuhnemann

• Traveling reserve: Brendan Doggett 

Highlights:

• Smith anchors the batting; Cummins tops pace leaderboard 

• Green returns after surgery; selection decisions on opener (Khajawa/Konstas) 

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🇿🇦 South Africa (Coach: Shukri Conrad)

• Captain: Temba Bavuma (c)

• Batting: Aiden Markram, Tony de Zorzi, Ryan Rickelton, David Bedingham, Tristan Stubbs, Kyle Verreynne, Wiaan Mulder

• All-rounders & spinners: Keshav Maharaj, Senuran Muthusamy, Corbin Bosch

• Pacers: Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Dane Paterson, Marco Jansen 

Highlights:

• Markram assures readiness despite limited red-ball prep 

• Rabada and Ngidi boost South Africa's top pace attack 

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🎧 Match Officials

• On-field umpires: Chris Gaffaney (NZ) & Richard Illingworth (ENG)

• Third umpire: Richard Kettleborough (ENG), Reserve umpire: Nitin Menon (IND)

• Match referee: Javagal Srinath (IND) 

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🔍 Form Guide & Context

• Australia:

  • Top-ranked Test team, strong runs in Ashes, Pakistan, India 

  • Favorites to retain WTC crown 

• South Africa:

  • Riding a seven-match winning streak entering final

  • Aiming for first ICC title after near-misses

• Clash to watch: Steve Smith vs Kagiso Rabada showdown 

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🧩 Why this Final Matters

• Decider for the WTC mace—a symbol of Test supremacy 

• Landmark: South Africa's first final vs powerhouse Australia

• Lord’s prestige and historic backdrop lends prestige

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📺 How to Watch

• TV Broadcast: Star Sports Network

• Streaming (India): JioTV / JioHotstar 

• Global: Check ICC official platforms

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🎲 Match Strategy: What to Expect

• Pitch: Lord’s pitch typically balanced; expected to favor seamers early and spinners later. Toss could be crucial.

• Selection dilemmas:

  • Australia must finalize opener/jumping-in-spinner lines

  • South Africa balancing pace/spin, with Jansen or Bosch to support Rabada

• Key player form:

  • Smith (batting anchor), Cummins and Starc (pace spearheads)

  • Rabada and Ngidi (strike force)

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🗓️ Quick Recap

Detail	Information
When	June 11–15, Reserve Day: 16
Where	Lord’s, London
Teams	Australia 🇦🇺 vs South Africa 🇿🇦
Prize Money	Winner: $3.6M / Runner-up: $2.16M
Officials	Umpires: Gaffaney, Illingworth; Referee: Srinath
Key Matchups	Smith vs Rabada, Cummins-led pace vs Bavuma’s strategy
Where to Watch	Star Sports / JioTV-Hotstar

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🏁 Final Word

This WTC Final is a showdown of grit, form, and legacy. Australia look to uphold dominance; South Africa chase breakthrough glory. With historic Lord’s, record prize money, and an electric narrative, this is Test cricket at its finest. Don't miss it!

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