Pakistan, June 10 -- Australia will have to dust off the cobwebs but are still fancied to successfully defend their World Test Championship crown against equally ring-rusty South Africa in the final at Lord's, starting on Wednesday.

The five-day clash comes on the heels of a plethora of limited overs cricket over the last five months and both teams have been scrambling to prepare for a high-profile return to the red-ball game. Australia have not played a test since beating Sri Lanka in Galle in February when they made sure of a top-two finish in the standings from results for the 2023-25 WTC cycle. South Africa were assured of top place when they won their last test against Pakistan at home in January to book a first-ever finals appearan...