Defending champions Australia will play South Africa in the World Test Championship final, slated to begin on June 11. The iconic Lord’s will host the two rivals that dominated red-ball cricket in the early 21st century. Ahead of the blockbuster clash, star Australia spinner Nathan Lyon previewed the game, stating that it’s going to be a different challenge for them, since the conditions are very different and Australians don’t play with Duke’s ball enough.
Lyon also believes that both teams have a strong bowling unit, and it will be an exciting affair and a challenge for all the batters. However, he believes that the experience that the Australian team has can help them get the job done. In the last WTC final, Australia defeated India by 209 runs, and that confidence will also help them during the high-pressure match.
“Having the experience of the guys who have won three (50-over) World Cups and T20 World Cups and obviously the World Test Championship final a couple of years ago, that experience and that pressure in those higher games, it's going to be, it's on our side isn't it but it doesn't mean anything when you come to the game,” Lyon was quoted as saying by ICC.
“South Africa have got some world-class batters and obviously they've got some unbelievable bowlers there as well so it's going to be a good challenge and obviously it's a one-off Test match. It's going to be different challenge and with foreign conditions and the Duke's ball. It's going to be two best bowling attacks going at each other which is another exciting thing so it's going to be a good challenge for all batters,” he added.
Notably, South Africa batters are in terrific form in the ongoing edition of the WTC cycle, with Temba Bavuma and David Bedingham scoring over 600 runs each. Aiden Markram and Ryan Rickelton have fared well too, and speaking on the same, Lyon mentioned that he has watched them all in the recent warmup game between the Proteas and Zimbabwe