Decoding Australia's road to their second successive WTC final
What's the story
Australia have announced their 15-player squad for the ICC World Test Championship Final against South Africa, starting on June 11 at Lord's. The team is captained by Pat Cummins, who returns from injury alongside experienced pacer Josh Hazlewood and all-rounder Cameron Green. Notably, Australia will be making their second successive WTC final appearance, having won the 2023 summit clash against India. Here we decode their journey to the 2025 WTC final.
Standings
2-2 draw against England
With 13 wins from 19 matches, Australia finished second in the standings with a PCT of 67.54 (4 losses, 2 draws). Their cycle started with a riveting away Ashes series. Though Australia's 22-year wait to win an Ashes series in England continued, the 2-2 draw in the five-match affair helped them retain the urn. Notably, the Aussies were trailing in the Old Trafford Test but rain intervention took the game to a draw.
PAK & WI
Whitewash against Pakistan, 1-1 draw verus WI
Australia, in their next Test assignment, completed a 3-0 whitewash over Pakistan with a thumping eight-wicket triumph in the Sydney Test. Notably, the series marked the last Test assignment of the great David Warner. Contining their dominance at home, the Aussies beat West Indies in their opener. However, Shamar Joseph's iconic spell meant WI registered a rare Test win in Australia, in the second Test. The series hence ended in a 1-1 draw.
NZ & IND
Victories versus NZ and India
Australia travelled to New Zealand for their next assignment. Though NZ did well in both games, their inability to capitalize on the cruch moments meant the Aussies registered a 2-0 whitewash. Australia then welcomed India for the much-awaited five-Test series, which was a virtual qualifier for a spot in the WTC final. Though India won the opener, Cummins's team made a stunning comeback to complete a 3-1 triumph. This was Australia's maiden Test series triumph over India in a decade.
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Victory in Sri Lanka
As the series win against India guaranteed Australia's WTC final spot, their last assignment in this cycle was a dead rubber. It was an away series against Sri Lanka as the Aussies went without many of their key players. Even Cummins was unavailable as Steve Smith led the team. The Aussies dominated both matches and registered comfortable wins.
Stats
Here are Australia's key performers
While Usman Khawaja (1,422 at 41.82) topped the run-scoring charts for the Aussies in this cycle, Smith (1,324 at 41.37) and Travis Head (1,177 at 35.66) were the others with 1,000-plus runs. As far as the bowling department is concerned, three of the top-four leading wicket-takers in this cycle are Australians. Cummins (73 at 24.54) and Mitchell Starc (72 at 27.27) formed a deadly pair. Nathan Lyon registered 66 scalps at 24.
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Australia's squad for WTC final
Squad: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey (wk), Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Matt Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster | Travelling reserve: Brendan Doggett.