SA vs AUS, WTC Final 2025: Gayle and Williamson in attendance for Lord’s showdown; Pics go viral

Chris Gayle and Kane Williamson were present at Lord's for the WTC Final between South Africa and Australia. South Africa's bowlers made early inroads, but Steve Smith and Beau Webster steadied Australia's innings with half-centuries.

Former West Indies batter Chris Gayle and ex-New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson were in attendance for the World Test Championship Final 2025 between South Africa and the defending champions Australia at Lord’s on Wednesday, June 11.

South Africa skipper Temba Bavuma won the toss and opted to bowl first against Pat Cummins-led Australia in the first innings. The Proteas pacers, especially Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen, gave the first-time finalist a much-needed start to put Australia on the back foot early, reducing them to 46/3 in the first hour of play. Rabada rattled Australia’s top order by dismissing Usman Khawaja (0) and Cameron Green (4), leaving them reeling at 16/2.

Then, Marco Jansen capitalized on Rabada’s early breakthroughs and dismissed Marnus Labuschagne (17) and Travis Head (13) as Australia ended their opening session with 67/4 in 23 overs.

Gayle and Williamson grace the WTC Final with their presence

As the World Test Championship final between South Africa and Australia is a major talking point, Chris Gayle and Kane Williamson stole the spotlight with their presence at Lord’s on the opening day of the title clash.

Chris Gayle, widely known as ‘Universe Boss’, was spotted sitting in the Lord’s gallery, exuding his trademark swagger, wearing sunglasses and a flamboyant shirt. Kane Williamson, on the other hand, donned a black suit and was seen sipping tea/coffee and talking to one of the members of Marylborne Cricket Club. The pictures of the same went viral on social media.

Chris Gayle was one of the greatest Test batters for the West Indies, having amassed 7214 runs, including 15 centuries and 37 fifties, at an average of 42.17 in 103 matches. Gayle is the second West Indies batter after former captain Brian Lara and the fourth overall after Don Bradman and Virender Sehwag to score two triple centuries in Tests.

Kane Williamson, on the other hand, led New Zealand to their maiden World Test Championship triumph in the inaugural cycle of the tournament, defeating Team India in the final. Williamson stepped down from captaincy duties after New Zealand’s early exit from the T20 World Cup last year and also opted out of the NZC central contract list for players. Williamson is currently the leading run-getter for New Zealand in Tests, amassing 9276 runs, including 33 centuries and 37 fifties, at an average of 54.80 in 105 matches.

Steve Smith and Beau Webster’s fifties revive Australia’s batting

Meanwhile, Steve Smith and Beau Webster revived Australia’s batting after the defending champions were reeling at 67/4 at the end of the first session. Smith and Webster steadied the team’s ship with a crucial 79-run stand for the fifth wicket to take the side closer to the 150-run mark before the former’s dismissal at 146/5.

Smith showed why he is one of the Test batters as he played a resilient innings of 66 off 112 balls when his fellow batters failed to withstand the relentless pressure from the South African pace attack. After Smith’s dismissal, Alex Carey joined Beau Webster at the crease to carry on Australia’s innings.

Webster and Carey took the past 150-run mark in the 43rd over of Australia’s first innings batting. Beau Webster scored another fifty for Australia and anchored the innings. At the end of session 2, Australia posted a total of 190/5 after 50 overs, Webster and Carey batting on 55 and 22, respectively.