London, June 10 (IANS) The ‘Ultimate Test’ between the two red-ball best teams – South Africa and Australia – for the World Test Championship (WTC) mace is set to begin on Wednesday at the home of cricket, Lord’s.

Under the leadership of Pat Cummins, Australia will be aiming to defend the WTC title, which they secured by defeating India in the previous final held at The Oval in June 2023.

Meanwhile, Temba Bavuma’s South Africa are determined to end over two decades wait for an ICC title and make history with their maiden WTC triumph.

During their WTC final journey, South Africa won one out of their first five Tests and then remained unbeaten in their next seven. The Proteas secured their spot in the final after finishing on top of the WTC standings with 69.44 point percentage, including eight wins and three losses in 12 matches.

Defending champions Australia, on the other hand, were second in the table with 67.54 point percentage after 13 wins and four losses in 19 games. En route to the WTC final, Australia have retained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after a decade, which helped them seal their spot in the summit clash.

As the two teams set to lock horns in a battle for the WTC mace, here’s all you need to know about the key contest.

South Africa v Australia WTC final match details:

When and where will the 2025 WTC final take place?

Date: June 11–15 (Reserve Day: June 16)

Venue: Lord’s Cricket Ground, London

Start Time: 3:30 pm IST (10:30 am local time)

Where to watch the WTC final?

India: Fans can watch the World Test Championship (WTC) Final 2025 live on the Star Sports Network. They can also stream the match online through Disney+ Hotstar.

Australia: Amazon Prime Video

South Africa: SuperSport TV

WTC final prize money:

Winners: USD 36,00,000

Runners-up: USD 21,60,000 USD

Squads:

South Africa: Tony de Zorzi, Ryan Rickelton, Aiden Markram, Temba Bavuma (c), David Bedingham, Tristan Stubbs, Kyle Verreynne, Wiaan Mulder, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Dane Paterson, Keshav Maharaj, Senuran Muthusamy.

Australia: Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Alex Carey, Josh Inglis, Cameron Green, Beau Webster, Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Scott Boland, Nathan Lyon, Matt Kuhnemann Travelling reserve: Brendan Doggett.

–IANS

bc/ab