Top News

The Australian spinner Nathan Lyon has been cautious over Australia’s new challenge against South Africa in the WTC finals.

The World Test Championship finals are all set to be played at the Lord’s Cricket Ground in England, with Australia looking to defend their title and South Africa looking to win their first WTC final.

Both had a terrific test season throughout the WTC cycle 2023-25. On this occasion, Nathan Lyon has answered the burning question on whether the WTC final will be played with the Dukes ball or the Kookaburra ball.

Speaking to the ICC, Australia spinner Lyon has revealed that the WTC finals will be played with a Dukes ball.

In his statement, Nathan Lyon further revealed that the match between South Africa and Australia will be decided by the bowling units of both countries.

“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,” said Nathan Lyon.

“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 Dukes 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,” said Nathan Lyon.

ICC events are generally played with the Kookaburra, but since the Finals will be played at Lord’s they are using the Dukes ball.

South Africa’s strong performance in the ongoing red-ball circuit is catalyst for Lyon’s concerns. Opener Ryan Rickelton arrives in London fresh off a blistering 259 runs in his last outing, while captain Temba Bavuma and middle order mainstay David Bedingham both amassed over 600 runs during the WTC cycle.

Having closely followed South Africa’s warm-up matches, Nathan Lyon identified Rickelton, Aiden Markram, and Bedingham as key threats.

“They’re class players, there’s no point hiding from that fact,” he said. Lyon who has played in Australia’s Test win over Sri Lanka in February confirmed he is now fully fit and is match-ready after recovering from a hip issue.

“I haven’t stopped training since the Sri Lanka series. I’ve been bowling for five to six weeks now, and everything — from my workload to how the ball is coming out — feels spot on,” Nathan Lyon concluded.