Former national coach Mark Boucher has claimed that Ryan Rickelton and Tristan Stubbs will be significant players for South Africa in the 2025 World Test Championship (WTC) final versus Australia, which begins on June 11 at Lord’s in London.
Mark Boucher mentioned that Rickelton went on the England tour in 2022 and is comfortable with the conditions.
He cited Stubbs’ outstanding domestic performances, which secured him a spot in the Test squad after demonstrating his talent in the red-ball format. He conceded that Australia has a stronger batting lineup, but emphasised that the Proteas have the correct mindset to compete.
“Ryan Rickelton has been playing well for the Mumbai Indians (MI), and he was also on the 2022 visit to England. He has also played a few of games in England, so he is familiar with the circumstances. And Tristan Stubbs has come back and played a lot of domestic cricket, virtually forcing his way into the Test side because of the runs that he has,” added Boucher.
“On paper, Australia will undoubtedly believe they have a better batting line-up than we do, but do we have the attitude to go out there and just go for it in a one-off game? He answered, “Absolutely.”
Boucher was South Africa’s head coach for the 2022 Test series against England, recalling that the squad won the first match at Lord’s but lost in Manchester and The Oval, losing the series 2-1. He acknowledged that their inability to post significant totals was the fundamental cause of their downfall.
“We just couldn’t really put together anything that’s substantial on the scoreboard with regard to runs, and that’s where we really lost our way in the whole series,” according to Boucher.
Aiden Markram and Kyle Verreynne are the only hitters from the 2022 tour still on the current squad, which also represented Boucher’s final Test series as head coach. He resigned down following the 2022 T20 World Cup and went on to become the head coach of the Mumbai Indians (MI), where he led them for two seasons.
Lord’s is likely to see a large turnout of Proteas fans, with many local supporters and a contingent of travelling fans arriving in London next week.
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