World Test Championship Tips – CopyBet
Spotlight Sports Group’s betting expert has picked out two players to consider to be the top bowlers for their respective teams in the match, which gets underway on Wednesday, June 11 at the Home of Cricket.
The World Test Championship Final brings together defending champions Australia and first-time finalists South Africa in a five-day battle for the ultimate red-ball prize.
Pat Cummins’ men arrive as holders, having beaten India in the 2023 final, and their core remains unchanged.
Steve Smith and Travis Head both made centuries when the Aussies overcame the Men in Blue at the Oval two years ago and they will be the most-coveted wickets once more.
Cummins is joined by fellow quicks Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Scott Boland in a squad that also has two spinning options in Nathan Lyon and Matt Kuhnemann.
South Africa, under Temba Bavuma, have shown resilience and tactical nous to reach their maiden WTC final.
Fresh from a successful return to international cricket, Kagiso Rabada leads a six-man pace battery that includes Lungi Ngidi and Marco Jansen, though the absences of Gerald Coetzee and Anrich Nortje are blows.
Tip 1: Cummins has risen to the occasion for Australia in the big games throughout his career and he should relish a chance to bowl again at Lord’s.
The 32-year-old claimed 3-83, the best figures of any Aussie bowler, in the first innings against India in the last WTC Final.
And he was the most economical member of Australia’s pace attack when they claimed the 50-over world crown in India last year.
Cummins has a better Test bowling average at Lord’s than either Starc or Hazlewood and with spin unlikely to play a significant role in the match until the second innings, the captain stands a good chance of leading the way in terms of first-innings wickets.
Tip 2: Rabada remains South Africa’s spearhead and arguably the most complete fast bowler in the world.
He proved to be the Proteas’ matchwinner when they last visited Lord’s, claiming a sensational 5-52 in the first innings as the tourists demolished England by an innings and 12 runs inside two and a half days.
Rabada’s record at Lord’s is better than any of the other bowlers involved in the match as he has taken 13 wickets at the Home of Cricket at an average of just under 20 runs apiece.
He took three wickets in each innings of his latest Test match – a 10-wicket win over Pakistan at Cape Town and remains South Africa’s best hope of unsettling Australia’s top order.
18+. UK residents only. Betting tips are for entertainment purposes only and reflect the author’s opinion.
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