ICC WTC 2023-25 final: Pat Cummins confirms Steve Smith's batting position

Steve Smith is a crucial batsman in Australia squad for ICC WTC 2023-25 final.

After the conclusion of Indian Premier League (IPL), focus shifts to the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 final, where Australia will face South Africa. The encounter will take place at the Lord’s, London. The test match will commence on June 11.

Both teams have announced their squads for the match and have begun preparations for the crucial game. Pat Cummins will lead Australia in the clash for the ICC test mace, while Temba Bavuma is the captain of South Africa.

Both teams finished in the top spots of the points table to qualify for the final. Notably, Australia are the defending champions of the tournament and will look to defend the ICC test mace. In the last ICC WTC 2021-23 cycle’s final, Pat Cummins-led Australia defeated India to clinch the title.

Pat Cummins confirms Steve Smith’s batting position for ICC WTC 2023-25 final

Ahead of the mega clash, during a conversation on the show The Grade Cricketer on Prime Video Australia, Australia test skipper Cummins revealed Steve Smith’s batting position for the match. He informed that Smith will bat at No. 4 for the team.

“I can confirm that Smudge will be batting at four. Everyone else, I’m not willing to, but I can confirm Steve Smith will be number four,” Cummins said.

Notably, Smith is a crucial batsman in Australia squad for the match. He has been a regular member of the test side for almost a decade. In the last WTC final, Smith slammed a crucial century. With over 10,000 runs in 116 tests, Smith is a highly experienced batsman in the Australia squad.

The Australian captain mentioned that there have been talks to defend the WTC title since 2023. Cummins also added that it is pretty good to win one WTC title, but winning two of them will be incredible.

“After winning [in] 2023, there’s a lot of talk of trying to retain it. Go and defend it. It’s not tangible until you actually make the final. Now that we’ve made it, it’ll be pretty cool to win another ICC trophy. Playing at Lord’s, it’s a tournament that every other Test playing nation is vying for so, it just signifies a pretty good couple of years,” the right-arm pacer said.

“We just missed out that first year (2019-2021), but I think we are a better side now than we were back then. But, yeah, I think two (WTC titles) would be incredible. One, I think, is still a pretty good demonstration of how good we’ve been over the past few years,” Cummins further added.

Meanwhile, South Africa captured the peak spot in ICC WTC 2023-25 points table with a win percentage of 69.44. They won eight games and lost three out of 12 matches. One game ended in a draw. Australia grabbed the second place with a win percentage of 67.54. They won 13 games and lost four matches out of 19 encounters. Two games ended in a draw.

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