Australia has announced their playing XI for the World Test Championship final against South Africa. The match begins on Wednesday at Lord's in London with Australia aiming to defend the title at the home of cricket,

Usman Khawaja will open the batting and he will be partnered by the Queenslander, Marnus Labuschagne. In the fast bowlers' department, Josh Hazlewood has been selected over Scott Boland. Hazlewood will be joined by Mitchell Starc and skipper Pat Cummins as the frontline fast bowlers.

All-rounder Cameron Green returns to the Test squad following back surgery and the skipper is hopeful of a vital contribution from Green with the bat as he has been allotted with the no. 3 spot. Beau Webster retains his spot in the team and will be a support with his medium-pace bowling. The all-rounder is expected to play a crucial at no. 6 for Australia in the high-profile final.

Players like Sam Konstas and Josh Inglis, who performed well lately and trained hard ahead of the final misses out of the playing XI of Australia. According to Pat Cummins, the selectors opted for Marnus as he carries enough experience of playing at this venue.

The squad has seasoned cricketers who will want to defend their WTC title against a potent South African team. The final is set to be a thrilling affair between two top Test teams at the iconic Lord's ground.

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• Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Cameron Green, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Beau Webster, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood

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