On the first day of the WTC final at Lord's, did the cloudy weather cause South Africa captain Temba Bavuma to question the playing XI he chose against Australia? His words at the toss unquestionably implied that. Ravi Shastri, the former head coach of India, questioned about South Africa's playing XI, which had been revealed the day before, after Bavuma won the toss and elected to bowl first. According to Bavuma, it was too late to change their XI, and the Proteas have attempted to choose a lineup that works in every situation.

"Seems like a decent pitch. We've chosen the optimum combination, and it's now too late to make any adjustments. We are all 15 of us sure," said Bavuma.

Bavuma predicted that the weather would be "favourable for the new ball" at the beginning of the opening day, which influenced his choice.

The sentiment will overwhelm us when the anthems begin playing because we've all had some allegiance to Lord's. It's a huge final, and the atmosphere should be amazing, Bavuma continued.

South Africa's powerful seam attack stands in stark contrast to their inexperienced batting lineup, and their chances of pulling off an upset victory in the championship game depend on the bowling prowess of Marco Jansen, Kagiso Rabada, and spinner Keshav Maharaj.

The Australians were delighted to bat first, according to their captain, Pat Cummins.

"It seems like a nice wicket, and some cloud cover at the start is usual for England. I believe that it will dry up later in the game and provide plenty of turn," he said.

On the eve of the match, both sides revealed their lineups, with Cameron Green and Josh Hazlewood returning to the Australian squad after injuries, and South Africa made a surprise move in their batting order.

Lungi Ngidi was included in the bowling assault by South Africa, and Wiaan Mulder was moved up the lineup to bat at position three, ahead of 36-year-old Dane Paterson, a seasoned player for Middlesex in the County Championship.

To secure their spot in the WTC championship game, Ngidi has missed South Africa's previous seven test matches, all of which they have won.

From where he hit his lone Test hundred, last October in Bangladesh, Mulder has only previously batted at number three twice.

Two years ago, Australia defeated India at The Oval in the most recent WTC championship, while New Zealand was the first champion in 2021.

Groups:

Australia XI: Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins (captain), Alex Carey (wicketkeeper), Beau Webster, Travis Head, Steve Smith, Cameron Green, Marnus Labuschagne, Usman Khawaja.

The South Africa XI includes Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, Wiaan Mulder, Temba Bavuma (captain), Tristan Stubbs, David Bedingham, Kyle Verreynne (wicketkeeper), Marco Jansen, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, and Lungi Ngidi.

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