London will brace itself to see Australia crowned as world champions once again on English soil, with Pat Cummins declaring he can't wait to defend the World Test Championship mace in the final against South Africa in June.
Cummins' team's six-wicket victory over India in Sydney sealed their place at Lord's for what the ICC hails as the 'Ultimate Test' against a young Proteas outfit.
Australia will doubtless start as overwhelming favourites to defend the striking ICC trophy they also lifted in the English capital across town at The Oval in 2023.
"To hold the Border-Gavaskar Trophy is an amazing feeling, and the extra layer is now securing a spot again in the World Test Championship final, which was always a huge goal for us in this cycle," Cummins said.
"We talk about the World Test Championship a lot. It's a trophy we're really proud to hold so we want to go back and defend it.
"I think it's a great tournament in that you've got to play well consistently and across all different conditions against different teams. We can't wait to get over there."
In what will be the just the third final of the championship, Australia, who hammered India by 209 runs in 2023, have the chance to become the first team to win the mace twice following New Zealand's eight-wicket victory over India in the inaugural final in 2021.
The Sydney win ensured Australia consolidated second position in the WTC standings with 63.73 percentage points to move them beyond reach of India (50.00 per cent) and Sri Lanka (45.45), who had both still harboured hopes of a place in the showpiece event by finishing in the top two.
Instead, it was South Africa's win over Pakistan in the first Test in Centurion last week that booked the Proteas' place, with critics of the WTC format saying they'd played the fewest matches of any team and hadn't tackled either Australia or England in qualifying.
Former England captain Michael Vaughan evensuggested South Africa reached the final "on the back of beating pretty much nobody", a claim their coach Shukri Conrad dismissed indignantly.
"I'm never going to apologise for getting into the final," Conrad had said before the second Test against Pakistan that the Proteas are currently dominating in Cape Town.
"It's the biggest thing in this team's existence. It's the biggest thing for South African cricket at the moment. It's the biggest thing for Test cricket, for world cricket, where the right noises are going to start being made."
In must-win matches after injuries had beset them, South Africa beat the West Indies 1-0, Bangladesh 2-0 and Sri Lanka 2-0. They're now leading Pakistan 1-0 and haven't lost since New Zealand beat them in Hamilton last February.
They last played Australia in the summer of 2022-23, when they were outplayed in two Tests and saved by the rain in the third.
But Conrad has warned they'll be no pushovers this time.
"One of the 'nobodies' we beat won a Test match in Australia – West Indies beat Australia in a Test match. They are not nobody," he noted.
"New Zealand beat India three-zip in India. New Zealand is not a nobody. Sri Lanka won Test matches against England and New Zealand. I don't buy this thing about us beating nobody."
