Australia Star Steve Smith 'Excited' To Play With Dukes Ball At WTC 2025 Final Against South Africa, Accepts Facing Proteas Will Be 'Great Challenge'

WTC 2023-2025: With just a few days left before the start of the 2025 Final of the World Test Championship (WTC) between South Africa and Australia from June 11th, star Aussie batter Steve Smith expressed his excitement to play with the Dukes ball at the Lord's.

The Pat Cummins-led Australia are looking forward to defending the WTC title. Previously, in the 2023 WTC Final, the Aussies won the mace after beating India by 209 runs.

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If the Aussies manage to win the upcoming Final clash against South Africa, it will be the first one team will defend the prestigious WTC mace.

Steve Smith Shows Excitement Ahead Of The Lord's Clash

While speaking at a press conference, Steve Smith said that the Aussies have been training really well for the past few weeks. He further added that the batters are in good shape and ready to take on the Proteas.

However, Smith accepted that the Dukes' ball is different from what the Aussies play from the Kookaburras. He also said that playing against the Proteas in the WTC Final 2025 would be a great challenge.

"Yeah, I know how our team is. We've been training really well over the past week or so. All the batters feel like they're in a good place. We're just excited now to go out and play another Test Championship final. Obviously, we've got some fond memories from last year just down the road, and now coming to Lord's-it's a place where traditionally we've played pretty good cricket. Facing South Africa is a great challenge. The Dukes ball is different from what we usually play with at home or away, but we're excited for this contest," Steve Smith said as quoted by India Today.

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Here's Why WTC 2025 Final Will Be Played With The Dukes

Generally, ICC events are played with the Kookaburra. However, in the upcoming clash between South Africa and Australia, the dukes will be used as the summit fixture will be played at the Lord's in London.

The two balls are very different from each other. The Kookaburra mostly stops swinging after 10-15 overs and offers a bit of reverse swing. It is also known for not causing problems for the batters much.

Meanwhile, the Dukes have the capability to swing throughout the day. It gets more dangerous for the batters as it gets overcast. It's easier to deliver a reverse swing with the dukes than the Kookaburras.