LONDON – Former Australian opener Matthew Hayden and legendary South African pacer Dale Steyn have strongly criticized Australia’s captain Pat Cummins for his defensive strategy on the third day of the World Test Championship (WTC) Final, which they believe gave South Africa a clear path to victory.
The final, being played at the historic Lord’s Cricket Ground, has tilted in favour of South Africa, who ended the third day at 213 for 2, needing just 69 more runs to win their maiden WTC title. Aiden Markram is unbeaten on 102, while captain Temba Bavuma is solid on 65 at the crease.
Australia had dominated the opening two days of the match, but a defensive approach by Cummins on Day 3 allowed South Africa to take control. Critics argue that a lack of attacking field placements and pressure enabled the Proteas’ batters to settle and build a match-winning partnership.
Commenting during the live broadcast, Matthew Hayden said, “You can’t win a match without putting pressure on the opposition. Cummins needed to apply pressure on Markram and Bavuma but that opportunity was missed.”
Echoing Hayden’s views, Dale Steyn expressed surprise over Australia’s field placements.
“I was shocked by their strategy. To take wickets, you need to crowd the bat with close-in fielders like short cover and short mid-wicket — but they didn’t do that,” he noted.
With eight wickets still in hand and momentum on their side, South Africa are now firmly in the driver’s seat, just 69 runs away from claiming their first-ever World Test Championship title.
