NEW DELHI: South Africa have unveiled a strong playing XI for their much-anticipated World Test Championship Final clash against Australia in what is being billed as the Ultimate Test. The match begins on Wednesday. Captain Temba Bavuma announced the lineup, which reflects a well-balanced squad packed with depth in both batting and bowling. This marks South Africa’s maiden appearance in a WTC Final.At the top of the batting order is Ryan Rickelton, the leading run-scorer for South Africa in the WTC 2023–25 cycle. He is joined by Bavuma — not far behind in the scoring charts — along with Aiden Markram and Tristan Stubbs.One notable selection is Wiaan Mulder at No. 3 — a continuation of his recent role in Tests against Sri Lanka and Pakistan.“Mulder is quite young in that position. But I think having played with Mulder, having seen him and the way he has grown in the last two years within the red-ball format,” Bavuma said.“It’s about giving him a lot more confidence, keep 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.”While Keshav Maharaj slots in as the only specialist spinner, the Proteas pace attack features Kagiso Rabada, Marco Jansen, and Lungi Ngidi.Dane Paterson, who had impressed during South Africa’s previous series against Pakistan, misses out. Bavuma explained the decision to pick Ngidi instead.“Probably one of the tougher decisions that has been made. We see what Dane Paterson did for us to the end of last season,” Bavuma said.“But 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.“Lungi also has a better record, not taking away anything 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 like Patto.“It was probably one of the difficult decision we had to make.”South Africa Playing XI: Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, Wiaan Mulder, Temba Bavuma (c), Tristan Stubbs, David Bedingham, Kyle Verreynne (wk), Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi.
