Who are the key players to watch in the WTC Final at Lord's?

London, June 10 (NationPress) After two years of rigorous competition, Australia and South Africa are set to clash in the World Test Championship (WTC) final at Lord's on Wednesday. The defending champions, Australia, captained by Pat Cummins, have a remarkable chance to become the first team to successfully defend the title in its third edition, having triumphed over India at The Oval in 2023.

Conversely, Temba Bavuma's South Africa is making their debut in the WTC final after topping the standings, winning seven of their last eight matches. Although this marks their first appearance in a red-ball summit clash, they have become familiar faces in ICC knockout tournaments in recent years.

South Africa reached the semifinals of the 2023 ODI World Cup and the 2025 Champions Trophy, finishing as runners-up in last year's T20 World Cup against India, led by Rohit Sharma. Their only ICC title came in 1998 when they lifted the Champions Trophy.

Meanwhile, Cummins aims to add another ICC trophy to his accolades after leading Australia to victory in the 2023 ODI World Cup against India in Ahmedabad.

Here are five players who could significantly influence the outcome of the WTC final:

David Bedingham: The right-handed batter has emerged as South Africa's top run-scorer in the WTC 2023-25 cycle, amassing 645 runs in 12 matches, including his first Test century against New Zealand in February 2024. He also stood out in English domestic cricket, scoring 200 runs more than any other player in Division One of the County Championship last season, with his 279 against Lancashire marking a historic high for Durham in first-class cricket.

Travis Head: This seasoned left-handed batter shines in ICC title matches. In the last WTC final, he scored a crucial 163 runs against India, earning him the Player of the Match award. He replicated this success in the 2023 ODI World Cup final, scoring a decisive 137 against India. In the current WTC cycle, he has tallied 1,177 runs in 19 matches, including three centuries and five fifties, ranking third among Australian run-scorers behind Usman Khawaja (1,422 runs) and Steve Smith (1,324 runs).

Ryan Rickelton: The stylish left-hander made an impressive start to 2025, scoring 259 against Pakistan at Newlands during his inaugural Test innings as an opener before contributing to MI Cape Town's SA20 victory. Having been in and out of the Test squad since his debut in 2022, he hopes that his New Year’s innings, a joint-seventh highest Test score by a South African, will secure his spot at Lord’s.

Pat Cummins: The Australian captain is recognized as one of the premier fast bowlers in Australia's cricket history. After debuting at age 18, he has taken 294 Test wickets, placing him eighth among all-time Australian wicket-takers, with only Glenn McGrath boasting a better bowling average than Cummins’ 22.43 among the top 10.

Kagiso Rabada: An exceptional pace bowler, Rabada ranks fifth on South Africa’s all-time Test wicket-takers list and arrives at Lord’s just three wickets shy of matching Allan Donald’s tally of 330. He holds the second position in the world Test rankings, trailing only Jasprit Bumrah, and is already featured on the honours board at the Home of Cricket after taking five wickets for 52 runs against England in 2022.