Lord's

WTC Final: Josh Hazlewood confident ahead of Lord’s clash, eyes return after injury layoff | Cricket News

Danijones13 hours ago04 mins

Josh Hazelwood (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images) Australian fast bowler Josh Hazlewood expressed confidence about bowling in England ahead of the World Test Championship final against South Africa at Lord’s on June 11. Having taken 52 wickets in 12 Tests in England at an average of 26.07, including five wickets in his recent Ashes appearance at Lord’s, Hazlewood plans to increase his pace before the crucial match.Hazlewood hasn’t played Test cricket since December 2024 at The Gabba against India due to a calf strain. Scott Boland, who replaced him, claimed a 10-wicket haul against India at Sydney, creating competition for the third seamer’s position at Lord’s.“Any time I bowl in England, I’m reasonably confident. I’ve had some good tours here over the last 10 years, and Lord’s in particular. I haven’t lost before at Lord’s yet as a player, certainly in red-ball cricket for sure, and we have had a couple of good wins there over the years.”“Today is sort of post-flight and just to get moving. I will probably nail down a few more overs tomorrow and then over the next few days, tick a lot of boxes,” Hazlewood told ICC on Saturday.Hazlewood’s recent participation in IPL 2025, where he won the title with Royal Challengers Bengaluru, has helped him maintain his bowling rhythm despite a minor shoulder niggle. Gautam Gambhir sends stern message after Bengaluru tragedy “I ticked over some good overs just before the (IPL) Final in Ahmedabad in different weather than this, and it was quite a tough session. And then obviously, every time you play a game in the IPL, you’re probably going to get almost seven or eight overs in, if you really want to.”Quiz: Who’s that IPL player?“So in and around with warm-ups, and obviously the four overs in the game. And we bowled second a lot of the time in IPL, so that was sort of two warm-ups, so you can squeeze in overs here and there, and things are going pretty well.”“Everyone looks in good shape. We’ve all been in different parts of the world playing or training over the last couple of months, so it’s good to get everyone together and catch up with everyone yesterday and the day before and get all on the same page moving forward.”

Australia vs South Africa, WTC Final: Tom Moody predicts winner, says ‘winning mentality is ingrained in them’ | Cricket News

Danijones15 hours ago04 mins

Pat Cummins of Australia (Photo by Philip Brown/Getty Images) NEW DELHI: Tom Moody, the former Australian cricketer, asserts that Australia’s success in high-stakes matches has been consistent across generations, demonstrating exceptional performance levels ahead of their World Test Championship (WTC) final against South Africa.The ICC’s prestigious mace will be contested between South Africa and Australia from June 11 at Lord’s.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Whilst South Africa seeks their first ICC silverware in more than 20 years, Australia, under Pat Cummins’ leadership, aims to maintain possession of the mace they secured by defeating India in the previous WTC final at the Oval in June 2023.“The Australians have built that reputation through consistent success in major tournaments. When it comes to ICC events, Australia somehow elevates their game to another level as a team. They genuinely embrace the challenges of tournament cricket and thrive under the pressure of these high-stakes matches. Gautam Gambhir sends stern message after Bengaluru tragedy “It’s also about confidence. Historically, many of their players have won multiple ICC tournaments, and they’ve grown up watching previous generations achieve the same success. That winning mentality is ingrained in them,” Moody commented on Star Sports.The Proteas have demonstrated excellent form in ICC events over the past two years, reaching the semi-finals of both the ICC Men’s World Cup and ICC Champions Trophy, the final of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, and now qualifying for the ICC WTC final.According to Moody, Australia possesses a marginal advantage over South Africa, primarily due to their extensive experience in high-pressure encounters.“You need to trust your instincts and make sure that you sort of cut out the negativity of the fact that you haven’t played Test cricket for several months, or you’re suddenly turning up in England and you’ve got completely different conditions. That’s the nature of Test cricket, and that’s the beauty of Test cricket, being able to adapt and evolve on the move to be able to respond when you need to. So, I think both teams will be very aware of that. I think Australia has got a slight advantage purely because they’ve played more big matches than South Africa have over recent years,” he concluded.