Cummins, Green, and Hazlewood Return as Australia Announces WTC Final Squad

For the forthcoming ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2023–25 Final against South Africa, which will begin on June 11 at the storied Lord's in London, Australia has selected a 15-man squad. As the Australians prepare to defend the WTC championship they won in 2023 against India, the announcement features the return of all-rounder Cameron Green, pace ace Josh Hazlewood, and skipper Pat Cummins.

Kagiso Rabada, the pace leader, will make his comeback just in time for the summit match after serving a one-month suspension due to a recent positive dope test. Lungi Ngidi, who has successfully recovered from injury, will also help to maintain the pace. Young seamer Kwena Maphaka will join Ngidi's team, which also has Wiaan Mulder, Corbin Bosch, and Marco Jansen as pace threats.

WTC Final Squad Revealed:

Spin chores will be performed by left-armer Matt Kuhnemann and veteran Nathan Lyon. Steve Smith, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, and Usman Khawaja make up the batting core. Beau Webster, a powerful all-rounder, and young opener Sam Konstas have also been recruited to the team. George Bailey, the selection chair, talked about the trio's comeback and the honour of making it to the final for the second consecutive year.

Bailey said as quoted by a CA, “We are fortunate and looking forward to having Pat (Cummins), Josh (Hazlewood), and Cam (Green) back in the squad. Means a lot to the group to reach the final, and they are very much looking forward to the challenge South Africa will present at Lord’s. The team finished the WTC cycle with an impressive series victory in Sri Lanka, following an equally strong summer in defeating India for the first time in a decade. Those series capped a consistent performance across the two-year cycle and now presents us with the incredibly exciting opportunity to defend the World Test Championship."

Australia would become the first team to win multiple WTC Finals in addition to defending if they prevailed at Lord's. On June 26, the same squad will go on a three-Test series in the Caribbean. Brendan Doggett, meanwhile, has been appointed the travelling reserve after smashing the record in the Sheffield Shield final. South Australia won its first red-ball championship in almost thirty years thanks to Doggett's eleven-wicket effort.

Australia WTC squad:

Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster, Pat Cummins (c), Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Scott Boland, Alex Hazlewood, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Matt Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, and Mitchell Starc

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