"I don't like it at all" - James Anderson picks combined playing 11 for SA vs AUS 2025 WTC final

Former England pacer James Anderson picked his combined playing XI for the upcoming 2025 World Test Championship (WTC) Final between South Africa and Australia. The summit clash is scheduled to begin on June 11 at the iconic Lord's Cricket Ground as the Men in Yellow attempt to defend their title and become the first-ever two-time winners.

Anderson picked the Australian pair of Marnus Labuschagne and Usman Khawaja to open the innings, while naming Aiden Markram at No. 3 instead of Cameron Green. Australians dominated the middle order, with all three of Steve Smith, Travis Head and Alex Carey walking into the side over the likes of Temba Bavuma, Tristan Stubbs and Kyle Verryenne. The former pacer chose Wiaan Mulder as the primary all-rounder in the side over Australia's Beau Webster.

In terms of the bowling unit, Anderson made a tough call by choosing Kagiso Rabada, and leaving Mitchell Starc out. The trio of Pat Cummins, Nathan Lyon and Josh Hazlewood also comfortably found a place over the likes of Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj and Dane Paterson.

Anderson's combined playing XI included only three South African players. He admitted that there were way too many Australian players in the team that he picked:

"It's a lot of Aussies in there. I don't like it at all," Anderson said in an interaction with Cricket District.

South Africa are in the hunt for their first ICC silverware since the 1998 Knockout Trophy. They had finished sixth in the inaugural WTC cycle, while narrowly missing out on the final in the second cycle. In the 2023-25 cycle, they finished top of the table, losing only three Tests, while boasting a dominant win percentage of 69.44.

"I'm really looking forward to that battle" - James Anderson on the match-up between Steve Smith and Kagiso Rabada

In his combined XI, Anderson had made the bold call to not include Mitchell Starc and name Kagiso Rabada instead. He feels that the Proteas speedster's battle against Steve Smith might dictate the fate of the game.

"The main one for me will be Rabada against Steve Smith and I think that could be a really good, interesting battle. 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," he said during an interaction for the DP World Beyond Boundaries event at Lord's (via ICC).

Both Australia and South Africa have already named their playing XIs for the summit clash. The Men in Yellow have opted to not include Sam Konstas, with Marnus Labuschagne featuring as an opener for Cameron Green to feature at No. 3.