SA vs AUS, WTC Final 2025: From Markram vs Cummins to Smith vs Rabada - 5 key battles to watch out at Lord's

Australia skipper Pat Cummins has a remarkable record against South Africa opener Aiden Markram. The Aussie pacer has dismissed him four times in Tests. However, Aiden has been phenomenal at the top of the order since February 2023, boasting an average of over 40 with two centuries. This clash will be a test of Markram's patience against Pat Cummins's pace and swing.

This is a clash between Australia's best batter, Steve Smith, and South Africa's best bowler, Kagiso Rabada. Rabada has dismissed Smith four times, but Smith scored a century against SA and averaged around 50 in their last series. Both players perform well at Lord's. Smith averages nearly 60, while Rabada has 13 wickets in two Tests at the Home of Cricket.

Australia's explosive batter Travis Head likes to take down left-arm spin and has an impressive average of 50.24 against them. South Africa's left-arm spinner, Keshav Maharaj, hasn't dismissed Head in Tests yet. However, if Head gets a chance, he will switch gears against Maharaj and try to score quick runs.

South Africa's new batter, Ryan Rickelton, has been scoring a lot of runs lately. Australia's fast bowler, Josh Hazlewood, has scalped 81 wickets against left-handed batters in Tests, whereas Ryan boasts an average of 35 against right-arm pacers. This will be an interesting battle between Hazlewood's pace and Rickelton's good form.

South Africa batter Tristan Stubbs is phenomenal against spin bowling. However, he finds himself weak against pace bowling. He averages around 121 against off-spin and 83 against left-arm orthodox. However, his weakness against fast bowling (averaging just 17) means that if he survives Australia's pace battery, Stubbs will look to attack Lyon and get the better of him.