World Test Championship cricket live blog: Over-by-over updates as Australia crumble against South African bowlers, as Lord’s reveal the changes they’ve made to stop a repeat of Long Room controversy

Australia return to Lord’s for the first time since Usman Khawaja and David Warner were shockingly confronted by members in the Long Room during the Second Test of the 2023 Ashes Series.

And Lord’s have made several changes to prevent those unsavoury events from taking place once again.

During that series, players were forced to walk down a narrow passage of the Long Room, flanked by MMC members on their right and a wall on their left, as they left the field for lunch.

Pat Cummins’ side have now been told, according to The Chronicle, that they will have a wider space to walk down, so that they are not as close to the patrons in the lounge.

The stairwells leading up to the dressing rooms are also now kept clear when players are passing room.

That came after it was alleged that Warner was ‘kicked’ after making his way up for his dinner.

‘No, I think the Australian team will be very well received by MCC Members. I think the Long Room will be hugely respectful and I think the crowd will behave as they would normally to an Australian team,’ MCC President Mark Nicholas said.

He added: ‘It is what it is. There’s not much you can do. We put one of those roped off areas but it doesn’t matter. If someone wants to behave badly they will. But I really don’t envisage, frankly I’d go as far as to say I’d be astonished if anybody was out of line.

Marco Jansen is causing Steve Smith some huge trouble with his angle from round the wicket.

He whistles one past Smudger’s outside edge that has the South African fielders in disbelief.

But Smith calmly sees out the rest of the over, which is yet another maiden.

Webster begins the next over with a glorious cover drive for four of his own before he survives a shout for LBW that looked very close.

However, the Proteas opt not to review and that could cost them as there were three reds with no hint of an inside edge.

Huge let-off for Australia!

Just one ball after the review, Webster edges onto his pad but sneaks through for a single.

Steve Smith then relieves the pressure with a drive through the covers for four.

Beau Webster survives by a whisker!

It was two reds but an umpire’s call on impact.

Has Marco Jansen trapped Beau Webster in front?

South Africa send it upstairs…

So Beau Webster comes to the crease and he’s in trouble already.

Rabada almost gets him with a wobble seem. The ball flies high over the wickets and he almost skittles Webster, who made his Test debut against India at the SCG earlier this year.

Coming into the heat of this battle, Webster looked a little nervous there but he survives.

It broke up a partnership that looked set to go on to score a few runs.

But now Steve Smith must return to the wicket without Travis Head, the pair who had spurred Australia on to winning the World Test Championship Final in 2023 at The Oval.

South Africa will be buoyed by the heroics of their bowlers but the brilliance of their wicket keeper Kyle Verreyene, who covered an immense ammount of ground to get a right glove to Head’s edge.

The players are now walking out for the second session but it looks like the sun is going to peak it’s head through the clouds here at Lord’s and South Africa will want to make use of the cloudy conditions quickly while they can.

The conditions are really playing into the hands of Temba Bavuma’s side here.

But that is not taking anything away from how well they’ve bowled and equally, their almost impeccable fielding.

Behind the stumps, Kyle Verreynne has taken two wonderful catches, while Aiden Markram and David Bedingham both took great catches in the slips.

It is Kagiso Rabada who has stood up for his side today, leading the attack with some impeccable bowling to dismiss both Usman Khawaja and Cameron Green within four deliveries.

‘Rabada started beautifully,’ Kevin Pieterson told Sky Sports during the lunch break.

‘Talk about the players who haven’t got the experience of playing at Lord’s – well Rabada’s on the honours board.

‘A lot of players who come here the first time don’t really get the conditions It affects a lot of players and people when they come here.

‘But for Rabada, he’s got the experience and he’s delivered when they needed him.’

Marco Jansen also has a duo of wickets, notably sending Travis Head walking, who had come out to play some big swings and looked set to pose a big threat to the South Africans.

But it’s been a dismal start to the match for Pat Cummins’ side who have faltered under the conditions.

The Australian top order players have lacked precision, playing at shots which perhaps were just gliding wide, ultimately nicking edges wide and in doing so have handed this first session to South Africa.

‘It’s South Africa’s game at the moment,’ Matthew Hayden told Sky Sports. Had they not lost Travis Head, Australia may have said this session was a draw. But that is now, no longer.’

Australia must conjure up something in this next session to prevent this first innings from turning into a disaster. And perhaps there’s no better player to lead them out again after lunch than Steve Smith, who has quickly built a score of 26 runs off 51 deliveries.

At lunch, Australia are 67/4 (Ov 23.2)

The wicket of Travis Head in the last over before lunch caps a superb first morning for South Africa, who have backed up Bavuma’s decision to bowl.

Two wickets each for Rabada and Jansen, and Australia reliant on Steve Smith’s quirky defiance to ensure the damage isn’t worse than 67 for 4. Game on!

South Africa get another breakthrough before lunch and that is a huge blow for Australia.

Travis Head edges the ball behind the stumps and forces Kyle Verreynne to dive to his right behind the leg stump.

He covers the ground exceptionally to get his right glove to the ball and takes a sublime catch off Marco Jansen.

Just as things appeared to be slowing down, with Smith and Labuschagne at the crease, South Africa fire a brutal blow to dismiss the Queensland batter.

He had been struggling to find runs over the past few overs, dropping down to a strike rate of 30.35, while Smith came out firing, surpassing his team-mate with a rate of 47.35.

Travis Head now joins him at the crease and the big-hitting South Australian is stepping up to make a few big swings early on.

He makes an aggressive start, getting off the mark with a four to start.

But they are weathering a storm against this South African side who are smelling blood as we are just 15 minutes away from lunch.

South Africa needed that, because Labuschagne and Smith were in danger of blunting the attack after the early breakthroughs for Rabada.

But the left-armer Jansen went round the wicket to Labuschagne, and found just enough movement to take the outside edge.

If South Africa can nip out another one before lunch, they’ll have enjoyed a glorious morning.

South Africa have their third and Marco Jansen gets on the board!

Things are going from bad to worse for Australia, and that’s a huge, huge blow for Labuschagne.

He waves his bat forward to drive the ball away from the wicket but he clips it behind, with Kyle Verreynne taking the edge behind the stumps.

The Queenslander took a good while to get off the field there, perhaps indicative of his dejection at the dismissal.

It’s been two years since Usman Khawaja and David Warner were walking back into the changing rooms at Lord’s when they were confronted by a member of the MCC.

Tempers had flared on the pitch during the Second Test of the series after Jonny Bairstow was controversially stumped by Alex Carey.

The tourists would ultimately go on to take a 2-0 lead in the series following the match.

However, unsavoury scenes erupted when multiple MCC members angrily approached Khawaja and Warner as they headed in for lunch. Both players had to be pulled back by security as tensions boiled over in the ugly exchange.

Khawaja had told security to expel one man before breaking his silence on the ‘rough’ abuse, which he added was ‘disappointing’.

He explained he ‘wasn’t going to stand by and cop’ abuse.

‘Lord’s is one of my favourite places to come. There’s always respect shown at Lord’s, particularly in the Members Pavilion in the Long Room, but there wasn’t today. It was very disappointing’, the Aussie opener said.

‘A few of them were throwing out some pretty big allegations and I just called them up on it and they kept going, and I was like, well, this is your membership here. So I’m just pointing them out. But it’s pretty disrespectful, to be honest. I just expect a lot better from the members.’

One of the members involved was expelled from MCC, while another was slapped with a 30-month suspension for ‘abusive, offensive or inappropriate behaviour or language’.

With five openers coming to bat alongside Usman Khawaja over the past 18 months, Australia still haven’t settled down on their top order.

Pat Cummins’ side appear to be in a bit of a transitional period, with several younger stars pushing for a spot in the Test side.

One batsman, Steve Smith, who is currently at the non-striker’s end, has opened up on his future in the sport, following his retirement from ODI cricket earlier this year.

During his career, 36-year-old batsman has smashed a multitude of records and is continuing to perform at the top level, notably leading his side out during their tour of Sri Lanka earlier this year in the absence of Pat Cummins.

And Smith has no plans of hanging up his pads any time soon, revealing the one sporting event he wants to play in before he eventually does retire.

What a start from the South African pace bowler!

He’s taken the wickets of Khawaja and Green in the space of four balls, having also taken three Maidens across his five-over spell here.

He is certainly showing his intent to get back to where he left off, coming back into this South African Test side having served a one-month ban after testing positive for cocaine.

Ahead of this week’s WTC Final, Rabada said he’d be using his ban as motivation to strike early against the Aussies.

‘It’s definitely a motivation,’ said captain Bavuma on his star bowler.

‘It’s been a couple of weeks now that everything has unfolded, and he put himself on the spot for further questioning from any of the players. As far as we know, that’s behind us.

‘He’s in the best shape that he’s ever been.’

His brace of wickets means Rabada, according to OptaJim, has now taken 327 Test wickets, 23 more than any pace bowler in the format since he debuted in November 2015.

Find out more about what’s spurring Rabada into form below…

Rabada is on fire! He gets two in the same over as Cameron Green looks devastated as he walks back to the long room.

This time it’s Aiden Markram at second slip who takes the catch at second slip.

Australia are under the pump, while South Africa are roaring with confidence.

An excellent catch at first slip sees South Africa take first blood!

Usman Khawaja walks for a duck after a cagey start.

It’s a great catch from David Beddingha, with the ball clipping off the right edge of his bat flying out wide.

That was an excellent catch by David Bedingham at first slip, because Aiden Markram was threatening to distract him as the edge flew in their general direction. Rabada had tied up Khawaja beautifully from round the wicket, and that’s a half-hour duck for Australia’s opener. First blood South Africa!

There’s a big shout as Marco Jansen fires a ball down the wicket and it lands high on Marnus Labuschagne’s pad. Like Rabada, he’s started well too, with the ball starting move around on the wicket.

The appeals quickly settle, with the ball appearing to miss the stumps, but it’s our first big chance of the day.

Meanwhile, Marnus has also got Australia off the mark. He and Khawaja get back for a two, and there’s a bit of confusion out there too.

It appears Jansen has been pulled up for a no-ball earlier in the over, overstepping the crease. But the bizarre incident has left the field a bit puzzled…

The Queensland batter comes to face the next ball and swipes a lovely cut to square leg.

It’s a great start for the South African pace bowler, who keeps Labuschagne and Khawaja to nil after the first over.

It comes after cricket great James Anderson dubbed the 30-year-old one of his favourite bowlers in the world right now.

The English cricket great, who took 123 Test wickets at Lord’s, explained he couldn’t wait to see Rabada go up against Steve Smith this week.

‘The main one for me will be Rabada against Steve Smith and I think that could be a really good, interesting battle,’ he explained.

‘Steve Smith is one of the best batters in the world and Kagiso Rabada is one of my favourite bowlers to watch.

‘I think he’s got so many attributes that just make me want to tune into the TV and watch him. He’s a fantastic player, so I’m really looking forward to that battle.’

Here he is getting some instruction from Anderson’s former bowling partner Stuart Broad on Monday…

I’ve just been in the Long Room, scene of those shenanigans two years ago when MCC members reacted angrily to the stumping of Jonny Bairstow in the second Ashes Test, and I’m happy to report that everyone was on their best behaviour this time as the Australians prepared to take the field for the national anthems. Here’s hoping harmony continues to reign.

We’ve had the anthems and it’s now time for the first ball!

Kagiso Rabada has the new ball and Usman Khawaja is on strike.

It’s a great start and it feels like good bowling conditions.

Rabada throws a lovely ball straight down the middle of the wicket and it swings out across the face of Khawaja’s bat.

As for the pitch, it looks a bit tufty which again might help the ball move.

Aussie star Matthew Hayden has given his verdict on what it’s like to open in conditions like these…

‘It’s terrifying!’ he says to Sky Sports. ‘But you’ve just got to wear the ball down!’

During his glittering Test career, Stuart Broad took 604 Test wickets, 153 of those wickets came against Australia – the most of any player in the red ball format.

Given his experience of taking wickets against Australia, South Africa have drafted him in on a consultancy basis to help him give them an edge in their quest to claim their first World Test Championship.

Broad, who also enjoyed some fantastic days at Lord’s, going on to take 113 wickets at the home of cricket, joined up with South Africa on Monday to give their bowlers, including star man Kasigo Rabada on how to deal with the Lord’s slope.

‘It’s very much about the tactics of that particular ground and the nuances which that slope brings. A lot of overseas bowlers can sometimes take a spell to get used to playing there,’ he told Sky Sports Cricket.

‘I’ll just have conversations with a few of their guys on field placements and how to settle and just the differences that Lord’s can bring to different bowlers.’

And Broad is also back to work on the live coverage of the match too!

From a trip to play a game of ‘farm-yard’ cricket with Jeremy Clarkson at his Diddly Squat Farm to spending some time with his family in London, Pat Cummins has certainly had a busy week!

Two years on from Australia’s epic WTC Final victory against India, it seems their arch rivals have found a way to get one back over the Aussies.

In a bizarre twist of events on the eve of the 2025 WTC Final, Australia were bumped off their scheduled training session at Lord’s, with India coming to train at the hallowed ground instead.

The switch-up in the training schedule left Pat Cummins’ side scrambling for an alternative training venue.

Many were left stunned by the move, especially considering India and England aren’t due to play at Lord’s until July 10.

Here’s why the bizarre situation unfolded…

Pat Cummins and Temba Bavuma will be giving their final messages inside the dressing rooms as we speak.

I wonder what each captain will say to their sides…

Temba Bavuma elects to bowl.

Our man Lawrence Booth is at Lord’s today and he’s delivered his verdict on the conditions below…

It’s a grey morning here at Lord’s, and a big cheer went up from the South African contingent when Temba Bavuma won the toss. They knew what that meant: South Africa will bowl first and seek to exploit the old adage that, at Lord’s, you look up, not down. If the Dukes ball swings, this could be a fascinating pre-lunch session.

Temba Bavuma has unveiled a very strong XI to take on Australia.

The Proteas, who topped the WTC league this year, with Ryan Rickelton headlining alongside Aiden Markram at the top of the order.

Interestingly, Wiaan Mulder comes into the batting line-up at No 3 after being tried in the role in their recent Tests against Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

‘Mulder is quite young in that position. But I think having played with Mulder, having seen him and the way he has grown in the last two years within the red-ball format,’ Bavuma said.

‘It’s about giving him a lot more confidence, keep backing him and just allowing him to do what he does best.’

Keshav Maharaj is the designated full-time spinner and joins a prolific bowling contingent that includes Kagiso Rabada, Marco Jansen and Lungi Ngidi.

On Tuesday, the defending champions named their side for this week’s final.

The shock news was that Usman Khawaja will have his fifth opening partner in 18 months, with Marnus Labuschagne pushing up the order to bat alongside him.

Josh Hazlewood returns to the side over Scott Boland and will team-up with Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins as Australia’s quicks.

Cameron Green returns to play for the first time since undergoing back surgery.

Cummins was pressed further on the call to push Labuschagne up the order, insisting that he was only moving up by one spot in the line-up.

‘With Marnus moving, we thought it’s one spot up really,’ he explained.

‘It’s not too different to batting three.’

‘Opening the batting can be tough, but it can also be sometimes the best time to bat, before the Dukes ball actually starts swinging.’

And in overcast conditions the ball is certainly set to start swinging today at Lord’s…

Is it make-or-break for Marnus Labuschagne this week at Lord’s?

Perhaps, but the pressure is certainly on the Queensland star, who has struggled with the bat over the past two years.

Now, Pat Cummins has taken the bold move to push him up the order with the 30-year-old set to open for Australia, with Sam Konstas missing out on a call-up.

It means since David Warner’s retirement, Khawaja will have his FIFTH opening partner in the space of 18 months.

While the move has garnered some scrutiny, Cummins has defended his decision to bring the Brisbane Heat batter into the top of the order.

He explained that the decision was partly a reward for how Labuschagne had helped the side reach the final.

‘Marns, again, he’s played some crucial knocks in getting us here. You look back to the MCG (against India) and his batting was right up there as a difference in that match. So, yeah, I think it’s partly (about) rewarding those guys who got us here.

Cummins also revealed the advice he has given to his team-mate, telling reporters on Tuesday: ‘We love when they’re [batters] are busy and putting pressure back on the bowlers.

‘That’s our message here to Marnus, opening the batting can be tough but it can also be the best time to bat before the Dukes ball actually starts swinging and there’s runs to be scored.

‘So it’s keeping that positive intent, (which) is when he’s batting at his best.

‘With Marnus moving, we thought it’s one spot up, it’s not too different to batting at three.

‘He’s done well here in England in the past.’

But it’s a little bit overcast… and that makes it a perfect day for a bowl here at Lord’s as Australia and South Africa prepare for the 2025 World Test Championship final.

I’m just hoping the rain is going to hold off, and it looks like it might just do that.

Forecasts are predicting it is going to stay dry throughout the day and we’ll get a few breaks in the cloud from around 12pm onwards.

But we’ve got what’s set to be a thrilling Test match in store and there’s plenty of storylines going on behind the scenes.

Australia have interestingly backed Marnus Labuschagne to open, and this is, perhaps a make-or-break opportunity for the Queenslander.

Multiple English stars have also been raising their heads as arch rivals Australia set out to defend their WTC crown. Jimmy Anderson shot a dig at Pat Cummins, while Stuart Broad has joined up with South Africa’s bowling coaches… make of that what you will.

Stay with us as we’ll be bringing you live over-by-over updates and all the latest commentary, analysis and news from the 2025 World Test Championship Final.