The One Factor That Saw Lungi Ngidi Pip Dane Paterson To South Africa Playing XI For WTC 2025 Final vs Australia

South Africa captain Temba Bavuma has confirmed that Lungi Ngidi will start ahead of Dane Paterson in the World Test Championship 2025 final against Australia. And what was the key factor that swung the decision?

“It was probably one of the tougher decisions that have been made,” Bavuma said ahead of the final. “But from a tactical point of view, there’s a little bit more pace from Lungi. He is taller as well.”

On the Lord’s slope, that counts for plenty. The Aussie pace attack is pretty tall, with even their back-up seamer, Beau Webster, quite high. South Africa have looked to match them in that department. Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi are both taller than 1.90m, while Marco Jansen stands at 2.06m. Wiaan Mulder, considered short in this attack, is 1.85m. Paterson, by contrast, is significantly shorter and relies more on seam and swing than bounce. There’s also the fact that on paper he operates a bit similar to Mulder.

Lungi Ngidi makes Test return

Ngidi’s recent red-ball workload raises some concerns. This will be only his third Test under coach Shukri Conrad, and he has played just two red-ball matches in the last 18 months. His most recent Test was back in August 2024, against West Indies, where he took 1 for 51 in 16.5 overs. But South Africa believe his upside is worth the risk.

“Lungi has the experience. He’s played here before—not that Patto hasn’t—but Lungi complements that bowling attack a little bit more,” Bavuma said ahead of the final in the press conference. “We have a guy like Mulder as well, who gives you something similar to what Patto can do.”

Paterson was one of South Africa’s best bowlers in the 2024-25 home summer, taking 13 wickets in two Tests at an average of 16.92. But the similarity in styles between him and Mulder worked against him. Ngidi, with his steeper bounce and extra pace, adds more variety to a bowling group that also includes Rabada, Jansen, Maharaj, and Mulder.

Ngidi trained under the watch of Stuart Broad in the lead-up to the final, and South Africa hope that preparation, combined with the tactical benefit of his height, will help him deliver despite limited recent game time.

There’s also the broader context. At 36, Paterson is not in the squad for the Zimbabwe series that follows. Ngidi and Mulder, aged 29 and 27, are part of South Africa’s long-term plans.

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Even if Ngidi’s recent record doesn’t inspire confidence, the decision to play him seems to hinge as much on how South Africa want to play at Lord’s as on numbers.

It’s a big call, especially with the stakes of a WTC final. But as Bavuma put it, “That was probably one of the difficult decisions that we had to make.”

And in the end, it came down to one thing: bounce.

South Africa Playing XI for WTC 2025 Final

Temba Bavuma (c), Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, Wiaan Mulder, Tristan Stubbs, David Bedingham, Kyle Verrynne, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi.

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