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Australia's famed bowling quartet of skipper Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, and spinner Nathan Lyon will be aiming to make history, as they seek to secure their first-ever world title while being a part of the playing eleven together.
Despite rich success Australia has achieved since the debuts of their legendary quartet, which has 1,508 Test wickets combined, these four superstars have not tasted championship glory together, with format differences, injuries and other circumstances keeping them separated during 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup, ICC T20 World Cup 2021, ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 and ICC World Test Championship 2023 title wins. In 2024, this famed team of bowlers became the first-ever to have 250 Test wickets each. Lyon sits at the third-highest wicket-taker of all time for Aussies (553 scalps in 136 Tests), while Starc sits at (382 wickets in 96 matches) sits at fourth spot. Skipper Cummins is six away from a triple century of Test wickets, at eighth spot with 294 scalps in 67 matches. Hazlewood is at 10th spot among Aussies, with 279 wickets in 72 matches, 21 shy of a triple century in Test wickets, as per ESPNCricinfo. The WTC final against South Africa will mark the 33rd time four of them will take to the field together in a Test match over all these year, a symbol of their ultimate longevity, with Lyon, Cummins, Starc having made their Test debuts in 2011 while 'Hoff' arriving to the scene in 2014. Australia have tasted defeat eight times across the 32 Tests they have played together. Cummins-led Australia will be looking to retain the mace that they claimed after defeating India in the previous edition of the World Test Championship Final at the Oval in June 2023. Australia squad for WTC final: Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Alex Carey, Josh Inglis, Cameron Green, Beau Webster, Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Scott Boland, Nathan Lyon, Matt Kuhnemann. Travelling reserve: Brendan Doggett. (ANI)
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