Australia captain Pat Cummins has said he is not expecting a fully partisan crowd at Lord’s when his side takes on South Africa in the final of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC), starting Wednesday, 11 June. Speaking on the eve of the match in London, Cummins acknowledged that some English fans might support South Africa, given the fierce nature of recent contests between England and Australia.

This match marks Australia’s return to England for a Test match for the first time since the intense 2023 Ashes series. During the second Test of that series at Lord’s, Australia wicketkeeper-batter Alex Carey was at the centre of controversy after the stumping of England’s Jonny Bairstow, an incident that drew sharp criticism from English fans. Carey was subsequently booed in the remaining Tests, with Australia facing a hostile atmosphere for the rest of the series.

Traditionally, Australia have not enjoyed significant support in England due to the historic Ashes rivalry. However, Cummins noted the strong presence of travelling Australian fans in London.

“Probably, yeah, hard to know [if neutrals will support South Africa]. There’s a lot of Aussies here in London, so I’m sure there’ll be lots of Aussies out there, lots of South African fans as well. And yeah, wouldn’t be surprised if the English have a few supporting South Africa as well. But yeah, we’ll wait and see,” Cummins said at the pre-match press conference.

GOOD TO BE BACK AT LORD’S: CUMMINS

The Australian captain joked about enjoying the calm at Lord’s while the stadium remained empty, and highlighted his team’s strong record at the venue.

Since 2010, Australia have won three Tests at Lord’s and lost just one. That includes the controversial 2023 Ashes Test, which Australia won by 43 runs under Cummins’ leadership.

Star batter Steve Smith is expected to play a key role in the final, given his prolific record at the iconic ground. Smith has scored 525 runs in five matches at Lord’s, including two centuries and two fifties.

“Yeah, great few days. Maybe there’s no crowds – that helps – but it’s always good to be back here,” Cummins said with a smile.

“It’s such an iconic ground and we do enjoy playing over here. Someone like Smithy has scored a lot of runs here – over the past three or four Ashes series and Test matches. I think we’ve either won or come close to winning every Test. So yeah, it’s a place we like playing at. Even in white-ball cricket, we’ve had some success here as well,” he added.

Australia confirmed their playing XI on Tuesday, naming Marnus Labuschagne as a makeshift opener alongside Usman Khawaja. All-rounder Cameron Green returns to the line-up, while pacer Josh Hazlewood has been selected ahead of Scott Boland to complete the pace trio.