WTC 2025 Final: Australia skipper Cummins REVEALS Smith's batting spot for title defence against SA
Synopsis
Australian captain Pat Cummins confirmed Steve Smith's batting position as number four for the upcoming World Test Championship final against South Africa. Cummins also discussed Australia's prospects of defending their title.
Australian skipper Pat Cummins said that star batter Steve Smith will be batting at number four during the much-anticipated ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final against South Africa at Lord's.
With the ICC World Test Championship Final 2025 fast approaching and set for June 11, Australia have zeroed in on an important batting decision.
With multiple alternatives in contention to take the centre-stage, skipper Cummins has named batting icon Steve Smith to occupy a crucial spot in the middle order.
Cummins on Smith's batting position
In a recent conversation with The Grade Cricketer on Prime Video Australia, Cummins stated, as quoted by ICC, “I can confirm that Smudge will be batting at four. Everyone else, I am not willing to, but I can confirm Steve Smith will be number four.”
Smith, who has batted most of his Test career at number four, boasts 6531 runs from 120 Test innings at the slot, averaging 61.61. This includes 23 centuries and 26 fifties.
The veteran batter had also starred in Australia's triumph in the previous WTC Final in 2023, scoring a first-innings century that helped set the tone for a big win.
Cummins' Australia aims to defend the title
As they prepare to defend the WTC mace, Cummins opened up on the prospect of becoming the first team to do so since the inception of the tournament in 2019.
"After winning in 2023, there is a lot of talk of trying to retain it. Go and defend it. It is not tangible until you actually make the final," he said.
"Now that we have made it, it will be pretty cool to win another ICC trophy. Playing at Lord's, it is a tournament that every other Test-playing nation is vying for so it just signifies a pretty good couple of years," Cummins said.
Significance of the WTC
The Australian captain also highlighted the significance of the tournament and the challenges it presented.
"I think it shows performance over two years. But there are varying conditions. Even in ICC World Cups, it is normally very similar conditions," he said.
"A Test tournament, you have got to go and win basically everything at home, but for us, we had to go to Sri Lanka and win in tough spinning conditions," Pat Cummins said.
"Go over to New Zealand, and beat a really strong side at home. So, I think it shows that you have really got to be a complete team over a couple-year stretch to make the final," he said.
"We just missed out that first year (2019-2021), but I think we are a better side now than we were back then. We lost a couple of games at home. 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," the Australian captain said.
Cummins praises Bavuma-led South Africa
While Australia will be featuring in their second successive WTC final, South Africa made it to their first by topping the World Test Championship standings.
Cummins showered praise on the Proteas and believes the Temba Bavuma-led side has multiple match-winners in their midst to pose a challenge.
"They always seem to compete in every tournament. They have got a lot of experience, especially the white-ball teams - they play across different franchise leagues. Rabada, Maharaj, Bavuma, they have played a lot of cricket over the years," said the Aussie skipper.
"They have really good fast bowlers, they always seem to have not just one or two main guys, but they have got four-six guys they can call," he said.
"And yeah, some batters, you have not seen much (of them), but they have scored plenty of domestic runs. (We have) played most of the guys in the squad, certainly not everyone. There is always a little bit of mystique around South Africa, because we do not play them as often as, say, India," he concluded.