Destiny awaits Temba Bavuma and South Africa for the second time in the last 12 months as the Proteas finally aim to tick a world title off the list. India took it away from their hands in the T20 World Cup in Barbados last year and Australia will be hoping to do the same as they eye their second consecutive World Test Championship (WTC) mace in London but against a different opposition. Enough and more has been said about South Africa's path to the WTC final, but they are here, won seven matches in a row, which they needed to and are up against Australia in what could be a match for the lives of these 11 Proteas players.
It is a flawed system, but whatever it is, it has provided context to every single Test match and series and here we are with a possible event of having three different champions in as many cycles. First up, both teams have already announced their playing XIs, and it will be interesting to see how Marnus Labuschagne goes about his business at the top of the order and the new No. Threes for both teams - Cameron Green and Wiaan Mulder.
The bowling attacks are comparable and hence, there is a bit more life in the contest and between the two teams than many expect. The difference might be who bats better. There's slight rain predicted for Friday, but the match is expected to be completed without much disruptions and cloudy weather throughout the five days does push it in the bowlers' favour.
My Dream11 team for SA vs AUS, WTC Final
Aiden Markram, Temba Bavuma, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Tristan Stubbs, David Bedingham (c), Alex Carey, Marco Jansen, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Kagiso Rabada (vc)
Playing XIs
South Africa: Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, Wiaan Mulder, Temba Bavuma (c), Tristan Stubbs, David Bedingham, Kyle Verrynne, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi
Australia: Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Cameron Green, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Beau Webster, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood