Australia's Key Players Eye Milestones Ahead of WTC Final Against South Africa

Australia Prepares for WTC Title Defense
As the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) title defense approaches, Australia's captain Pat Cummins and opener Usman Khawaja are set to chase significant milestones. The match against South Africa, dubbed the 'Ultimate Test', is scheduled to commence on June 11 at Lord's.
To successfully defend their WTC title, Australia will rely on Khawaja to provide solid starts and Cummins to take crucial wickets against a formidable South African batting lineup, which includes Temba Bavuma, Aiden Markram, and Ryan Rickelton.
Khawaja, who has emerged as Australia's leading run-scorer in this WTC cycle with 1,422 runs from 19 Tests and 37 innings at an average of 41.82, is just 70 runs shy of reaching the 6,000-run milestone in Test cricket.
Currently, he has accumulated 5,930 runs in 80 Tests, boasting an impressive average of 45.61, with 16 centuries and 27 fifties, and a highest score of 232. This places him as the 16th highest run-scorer for Australia.
In the ongoing WTC cycles since 2019, Khawaja ranks as the fifth highest run-scorer overall and the third best for Australia, trailing only Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith.
Throughout his WTC career, Khawaja has scored 3,165 runs in 39 Tests, averaging 48.69, including eight centuries and 13 fifties, with his best score remaining at 232.
On the bowling front, Cummins is on the verge of a significant achievement, needing just six more wickets to reach 300 Test wickets. If he accomplishes this, he will become the eighth Australian bowler and the sixth fast bowler from Australia to achieve this feat.
In his 67 Tests, Cummins has claimed 294 wickets at an average of 22.43, with his best bowling figures being 6/23. He has also recorded 13 five-wicket hauls and two ten-wicket hauls.
In the current WTC cycle, he has taken 73 wickets in 17 Tests at an average slightly above 24, with best figures of 6/91, placing him just behind India's Jasprit Bumrah.
Since 2019, Cummins has been the second-highest wicket-taker in WTC, with 200 wickets at an average of 22.63, and his best figures of 6/91 include nine five-wicket hauls.
The Australian squad for the WTC final includes: 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, and Matt Kuhnemann, with Brendan Doggett as a traveling reserve.