'Rickelton and Stubbs will be the key against Australia' - Mark Boucher ahead of WTC final 2025

Published - 07 Jun 2025, 21:58 IST | Updated - 07 Jun 2025, 22:16 IST

Former national coach Mark Boucher stated that Ryan Rickelton and Tristan Stubbs will be key players for South Africa in the 2025 World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia, which is to begin on June 11 at the Lord’s, London.

Boucher noted that Rickelton was part of the England tour in 2022 and is well-settled with the conditions. He highlighted Stubbs’ strong performances in domestic cricket, which earned him a place in the Test side after proving his potential in the red-ball format. He acknowledged that Australia may have a stronger batting line-up, but emphasized that the Proteas have the right mindset to compete.

"Ryan Rickelton has been playing nicely for Mumbai Indians (MI) and he was actually on the tour that we went to England [in 2022] as well. He's actually played quite a few games in England as well, so he'll know the conditions. And Tristan Stubbs has come back and played a lot of domestic cricket and basically forced his way into the Test side because of the runs that he's got," said Boucher as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

“On paper, Australia will probably feel that they've got a better batting line-up than what we have, but have we got the attitude to go out there and in a one-off game, just leave it all out there? Absolutely," he said.

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Boucher was South Africa’s head coach during their 2022 Test series against England, recalling that while the team won the first match at Lord’s, they went on to lose in Manchester and at The Oval, ultimately losing the series 2-1. He admitted that their inability to post significant totals was the primary reason for their defeat.

"We just couldn't really put together anything that's substantial on the scoreboard with regard to runs, and that's where we really lost our way in the whole series," said Boucher.

Aiden Markram and Kyle Verreynne are the only batters from that 2022 tour who remain in the current squad, which also marked Boucher’s final Test series as head coach. He stepped down after the 2022 T20 World Cup and later took up the role of head coach for the Mumbai Indians (MI) while guiding them for two seasons.

A strong turnout of Proteas fans is expected at Lord’s, with a big number of local supporters and a contingent of travelling fans set to arrive in London next week.