4 h. ago Kagiso Rabada lays down marker of excellence with fiery spells for South Africa | Simon Burnton

Teammates say he is the world’s best bowler and judging by his first-day display against Australia he is not far offGiven there was a certain scepticism in advance of this game about South Africa’s suitability for a place in this final, their spot having been secured through a run of good results, mostly at home, in short series that notably did not involve either of the two sides currently ranked ahead of them, perhaps they needed an early marker of excellence, a demonstration of merit. Fortunately they had just the man.At 10.30am the pre-match pyrotechnic mist cleared with Kagiso Rabada at the nursery end, ball in hand. Perhaps Usman Khawaja’s personal fog lingered a while longer, the first ball of the day zinging past his outside edge and sending the Australian opener into survival mode. Rabada started his day with a maiden, and then another, and then another. Khawaja faced every delivery, including a couple more that he barely survived. And then, two balls into Rabada’s fourth o...

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5 h. ago Starc leads Australia fightback after Rabada stars for South Africa on day one of WTC final

Day one: Australia 212; South Africa 43-4Rabada takes 5-51 but Proteas’ reply faltersSouth Africa have had to put up with a fair few grumbles about their place in this World Test Championship final and grew tired of the topic during the build-up. Other than pointing folks in the direction of the International Cricket Council, the teams who can afford to arrange more fixtures, and the league table they topped, the only response they could really give was to compete out on the field.It was a case of mission accomplished with the ball, at least, even if a topsy-turvy opening day that saw 14 wickets fall ended with Australia in the ascendancy. Led by Kagiso Rabada, a player dogged by headlines about his recent ban for cocaine use, the Proteas were delighted to skittle the defending champions for 212 in two-and-a-half sessions, only to close on a troubling 43 for four in reply. Continue reading...

Sport

5 h. ago Kagiso Rabada lets his bowling do the talking — but Australian seamers have telling say

South Africa (43/4) trail Australia (212) by 169 runs: Back from a drugs ban, Rabada starred with a five-for on the opening day of the World Test Championship final before Australia exposed their batting frailties

Politics

13 h. ago South Africa v Australia: World Test Championship final cricket, day one – live

Updates from the first day of the WTC decider at Lord’sPlay starts 10.30am BST / 7.30pm AEST / 11.30am SASTSign up to The Spin newsletter | And email MartinSimon Reader has been in touch with a reminder that South Africa are up against it at Lord’s though perhaps found an early win with the toss falling their way.“By my count the Proteas are fielding three players who featured in Temba Bavuma’s last outing at Lords (2017)? That saw Rabada at his finest BMT at Lords is always a tough grasp with the Proteas already notorious for absence here, this is going to be a tough ask.” Continue reading...

Sport

19 h. ago Fury over year 9 students in South Australia being asked to debate whether the tradwife movement is good for women

Debating SA says callers have been ‘ringing up screaming’, accusing it of undoing centuries of female advancementAustralia news live: latest politics updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastYear 9 students in South Australia are about to debate whether “the ‘tradwife’ movement is good for women” – but the topic has sparked fierce discussion before the debates have even started.The topic will start being debated next week as part of the third round of Debating SA’s competition, for which all schools in the state are eligible. Continue reading...

Politics

27 h. ago High stakes and a shot at silverware: WTC final will sparkle despite critics

It may not be the pinnacle of cricket’s most storied format but it does provide a spectacle beyond established rivalriesIt was the pandemic that forced the first World Test Championship final to be staged at the biosecure Rose Bowl in 2021, then commercial snags that led to it being held at the Oval two years later. But having been intended for both, Lord’s finally gets its chance this week, the defending champions Australia taking on South Africa for the right to lift the oversized Chupa Chup that is the ICC Test Championship Mace.This will probably prompt eyerolls in some territories, even if June ruled out a fair number of them from acting as hosts. Another argument in favour of Lord’s is the ground’s history and prestige coupled with London’s diversity. Despite England not making the final, likewise India and their jet- set supporters, the first four days in St John’s Wood are sold out. Where else in the world could guarantee this turnout for a “neutral” final? Continue reading...

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31 h. ago Incongruity of World Test Championship final fails to dampen Australian excitement | Geoff Lemon

It may be a strange time of year for an Australian, and a strange tournament structure, but the decider is vindicated further each time it is playedIn Australia it is winter, and it is footy season. AFL, NRL, the works. The autumn was passing strange, with unnervingly high temperatures and the Gold Coast Suns in the top four. But now it is June, and feeling more as it should, with nights in the southern half of the continent dipping deep into single degrees. The Raiders must be breathing out steam on Canberra mornings, half remembering dreams of ending a premiership wait. And strangely positioned among all this, the Australia Test team is getting ready to play cricket.Australian winter tours happen, but outside the occasional Asian or Caribbean jaunt this century, they’re confined to quadrennial visits to England. Two years ago, the first time Australia qualified for a World Test Championship final, that match came directly before an Ashes series. As well as turning the supposed cul...

Sport

34 h. ago How South Africa can finally shed ‘chokers’ tag against Australia to shake up Test cricket

South Africa’s path to Lord’s has been criticised by some, but, as Harry Latham-Coyle writes, the imperfect World Test Championship final against Australia brings a chance to rejuvenate a format under siege

Politics

51 h. ago Pat Cummins: ‘We want to play hard and fair, and I think we’ve got it right’

The Australia captain talks about leading the side against South Africa and not getting too big for his boots – but plays a dead bat regarding the Bairstow dismissal at Lord’sAs Pat Cummins opens up at the pavilion end, while gazing across the vast empty space of Lord’s a few days before Australia face South Africa in the World Test Championship final, it’s clear that the unexpected opponents this week have helped to frame his remarkable career.On Wednesday morning, while towering a foot over Temba Bavuma, his 5ft 3in South African counterpart, Cummins will lead Australia for the 34th time, in his 68th Test. The fast bowler stands at the summit of world cricket, his grizzled matinee idol charm allied to the grit which has helped him to become such a successful captain. Australia have won almost everything during his tenure of three and a half years and they are expected to retain their Test title. Continue reading...

Politics

55 h. ago Australia v South Africa: where the World Test Championship final will be won and lost

There are subplots aplenty in the winner-takes-all contest between the once familiar foes at Lord’s Defending champions Australia face the No 1 team in the 2023-25 World Test Championship cycle with South Africa out to claim the crown for the first time and finally put to bed their “chokers” tag. Australia have played their part as much as any side in stamping that label on South Africa across three decades, but much of that pain and misery could be washed away with a shock triumph at Lord’s.South Africa might be the underdogs but topped the WTC table after taking 69.44% of their possible points from 12 Tests, with Australia the clear next best on 67.54% from 19 matches. The once familiar foes did not meet over the past two years but with an intense rivalry always simmering below the surface and a winner-takes-all contest sure to light a fuse, we look at where the WTC final will be won and lost. Continue reading...

Sport

56 h. ago Steve Smith not thinking about Ashes as Australia prepare for World Test final

Australia will face South Africa at Lord’s as they look to retain their title.

Politics

3 d. ago Heartache turns to hope as South Africa seek to shake ‘chokers’ tag in WTC final | Daniel Gallan

The Proteas choking when it matters most is a tale as old as the country itself as history again weighs heavy on their World Test Championship hopesA South African cricket fan’s standout World Cup catastrophe will depend on when they were born. Baby boomers cite the time, back in 1992, when Brian McMillan was left needing 22 runs off one ball after rain in Sydney washed away any hope of a chase. Millennials are forever haunted by Alan Donald’s dropped bat in that tied semi-final in 1999. Gen Zs must still be wondering how Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller failed to get over the line with 30 needed off as many balls in last year’s T20 final.The Proteas choking when it matters most is a tale as old as the country itself. Longer, in fact, if you consider that Nelson Mandela was elected president two years after this story began. And throughout it all, one antagonist has loomed largest. Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago The moment I knew: she was giving birth to another man’s child – I was in absolute awe

When Laura went into labour, her new sort-of boyfriend Adam Dalzotto never left her side. Watching her give birth sent his opinion of her stratosphericFind more stories from The moment I knew seriesIn 2018 I had just started lecturing in nursing at a university in South Australia. It was the start of the academic year and I was new to town, so a colleague and I decided to check out the open-day stalls. I’d been vegan for a few years and was hoping to meet some like-minded folk.A person in a Sea Shepherd hoodie pointed me in the right direction and I was immediately struck by this woman sitting in the middle of the stall. It’s a moment captured in resin in my mind – there was a crowd of people and cupcakes on the table. I would say I was 13 paces away from Laura when I first clapped eyes on her. She was just breathtaking; smiling, happily chatting to people. She seemed to have this immense gravity to her and I could feel myself getting pulled into her orbit. I chatted to her and a fe...

Politics

4 d. ago ‘I was locked in the bathroom sulking’: Temba Bavuma on his path from township to WTC final

The South Africa captain talks about street cricket in Langa, adapting to new schools after a scholarship and why playing at Lord’s means so much“There was always some sort of allegiance with Lord’s when we were growing up in Langa,” Temba Bavuma says of his childhood as a township boy living just outside Cape Town. Bavuma, the first black cricketer to captain South Africa, will lead his country against Australia in the World Test Championship final, which begins at Lord’s on Wednesday.In the quintessentially English surroundings of Arundel, the 5ft 3in Bavuma looks as if he has gone back to being a kid in the dusty townships. “In Langa we had a four-way street,” he says, his face crinkling with the memories. “On the right-hand side of the street the tar wasn’t done so nicely and we used to call it Karachi because the ball would bounce funny. The other side was the MCG [Melbourne Cricket Ground] but my favourite section of the street was clean, and done up nicely, and we called...

Politics

4 d. ago Scotsman Obituaries: Professor Allan Langlands, Scottish oncologist who made a big impact in Australia

Professor Allan Ogilvie Langlands AM, cancer treatment pioneer. Born: 1 August, 1931 in Edinburgh. Died: 28 March 2025 in Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, Australia, aged 93

Politics

5 d. ago Stuart Broad to help out South Africa bowlers but not interested in coaching job

Broad will join the Proteas as a consultant for one day ahead of their World Test Championship final against Australia at Lord’s.

Politics

7 d. ago The Spin | Why neutrals should back South Africa against Australia in WTC final

Wealth of Big Three is skewing Test cricket and a big win for Australia at Lord’s would only emphasise this gulfOn a recent episode of The Grade Cricketer podcast, the hosts, Sam Perry and Ian Higgins, tore lumps out of South Africa in a foul-mouthed tirade about the World Test Championship final against Australia. Perry predicted a finish “inside three days” and Higgins, practically thumping the table, said: “If I don’t look at a scorecard and South Africa are three for spit my TV is going through the window.” Cue big alpha chuckles and main-character knee slaps.I know they were joking, skewering Australian arrogance as much as South African frailty, and that they have built a formidable brand that runs on side-mouthed jibes and hyperbolic bluster. Still, the lizard part of my brain lit up in protest. How dare they dismiss my countrymen? I wasn’t alone in taking offence. Continue reading...

Politics

9 d. ago South Africa seek Stuart Broad help in bid to beat Australia in World Test Championship final

England bowling icon to spend brief stint as coaching consultant for the Proteas at Lord’s next week

Sport

9 d. ago Stuart Broad to work with South Africa ahead of World Test Championship final

This will be Broad’s first coaching role, with the 38-year-old having been a television pundit for Sky Sports since retiring from playing.

Sport

1 week ago Ramsay art prize 2025 finalists: a giant teddy, a Scrub Daddy and a moving meditation on war – in pictures

The $100,000 award is Australia’s richest art prize for artists under 40, with finalists exhibited at the Art Gallery of South Australia until 31 August. Here’s a selectionArchibald prize 2025 finalists – in picturesGet our weekend culture and lifestyle email Continue reading...

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