WTC 2025 Final Showdown: Mitchell Starc Aims for Back-to-Back Glory as Rabada Plots Aussie Loss

Pacer Mitchell Starc said that the chance to defend the mace at Lord's successfully would be a "huge reward" for the team's continuous hard work over the years, ahead of Australia's match against South Africa in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final. Australia will want to add to their legendary cricketing history and defend their WTC title to go back-to-back. While the two teams prepare for the "Ultimate Test" at Lord's, which begins on Wednesday, South Africa will be aiming for their first major ICC trophy.

After defeating India in the 2021–2023 cycle summit battle after failing to qualify in the first cycle, Starc believed that the WTC final was the ideal chance for his side to win back-to-back titles. Talking to Star Sports, he said, "It’s a chance to go back-to-back. The World Test Championship might still be a relatively new format, but for us, it’s been a significant journey. We missed out on the final in the first cycle and were fortunate to win it the second time around. Now, with a core group of players from the 2023 final still together, to have this opportunity again — and at Lord’s — is really special. Winning the Mace for a second time would be a huge reward for everything this group has worked towards over the years."

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With a particular emphasis on their own strategy, Starc also dissected Australia's preparedness for South Africa's combination of seasoned and unknown hitters. He revealed, "Aiden Markram and Temba Bavuma have played a fair bit of Test cricket. We didn’t see Aiden in the last series in Australia, so we’ve spoken a little about him — he’s obviously been an important part of South Africa’s batting line-up. There are also some lesser-experienced players who’ve still had some Test exposure, but a few of them we haven’t faced yet in this format. So over the next few days, we’ll discuss them — what we can pick up, what we observe, and how they approach the game. But for now, our preparation is focused on what we want to do."

Australia has had a great decade in the 2020s. They demonstrated dominance in all formats by winning the ICC Cricket World Cup by defeating a formidable Indian team, winning the T20 World Cup in 2021, winning the WTC championship in 2023, and retaining the Ashes against England. All of these victories have occurred under captain Pat Cummins, with the exception of the 2021 T20 World Cup.

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