Australia's champion pedigree faces South Africa's gritty ambition in cricket's WTC final

LONDON (AP) — When it comes to major cricket finals, Australia is in a league of its own.

Only Australia has won all four men's global trophies. It is hard to beat in finals, having won 10 of 13 across the 50-over World Cup, 20-over World Cup, Champions Trophy, and World Test Championship. And let's not get started on the women's team, which is even more dominant.

The men go for world title No. 11 from Wednesday in the WTC final against South Africa at neutral Lord's.

That ruthless focus Australia brings on the biggest stages is in marked contrast to South Africa, a perennial underachiever. The Proteas have won just one major title, the Champions Trophy in 1998, when most of the current Proteas were toddlers.

An experienced squad — average age 29 1/2 — compensates with a bond that can't be underestimated, a determination to have each other's backs.

That showed often in the 2023-25 WTC cycle as the Proteas, who used 30 players, more than any other team, found a run-scorer or wicket-taker at just the right time. They won their last seven tests and were first to qualify for the final.

“We haven't been super dominant in our performances,” South Africa captain Temba Bavuma said when the team qualified in December. “We definitely haven't been clinical or ruthless when the opportunity or the situation is called upon. But I think what we've done is that we've found ways to make sure that the result is on our side.”

Australia already was a veteran team when it won the 2023 final by crushing India by 209 runs at the Oval. Ten of that 11 are back. Only David Warner is missing, retired from tests.

Medium-pace bowler Josh Hazlewood was injured and didn't play, but he's expected to replace one of the 2023 stars, Scott Boland. Hazlewood overcame a shoulder injury to spearhead Royal Challengers Bengaluru to a first Indian Premier League title last week with 22 wickets in 12 innings.

Warner's permanent replacement at opener still hasn't been settled. Sam Konstas made an audacious debut at age 19 in December against India, but Travis Head was preferred in Sri Lanka in February. They seem to be the main candidates.

Marnus Labuschagne has opened only once since 2016, and his form has dropped to the point of concern. He averaged just 28.33 in the WTC cycle and attempts last month to spark form at Glamorgan in the second tier of the English County Championship fell flat.

In the same division, allrounder Cameron Green scored three hundreds for Gloucestershire in a comeback from lower spine surgery which sidelined him for six months. But he's not ready to bowl.

It may not matter. Australia has four of its top 10 all-time leading wicket-takers in Nathan Lyon (553, third), Mitchell Starc (382, fourth), captain Pat Cummins (294, eighth), and Hazlewood (279, 10th).

Star batter Steve Smith turned 36 last week and hasn't played in the top flight since March, just like Konstas, opener Usman Khawaja, Lyon, Boland, and wicketkeeper Alex Carey. But they're entrusted with the knowhow to switch on when it counts.

Smith has four hundreds in his last five tests, and passed 10,000 career runs, almost as many as the South Africans. At Lord's he averages 58.

“At Lord's, there’s always sort of something going on,” he said on Monday. “There's always something going off for the bowlers, particularly if the clouds roll in. And then when the clouds are out, it can be really nice to bat. It's a cool game playing here in England. I enjoy the sort of intricacies of what you need to do at certain periods. Whether you need to tighten things up or get a bit more aggressive. It should be a fun week.”

Whoever opens with Khawaja will likely immediately face fearsome South Africa pacer Kagiso Rabada. Khawaja will have his hands full. He's fallen to Rabada five times in 10 matches.

Rabada, with 327 wickets, is three away from tying Allan Donald for fourth place on South Africa's all-time list. Rabada will have the company of left-armer Marco Jansen, who took 29 wickets in six matches in the cycle.

The third seamer will be either Lungi Ngidi, who was one of eight South Africans at the IPL, or Dane Paterson, who has been nipping the ball around for Middlesex in county division two.

South Africa has confirmed Aiden Markram and Ryan Rickelton as the openers and captain Bavuma at No. 4. They played in the IPL, too.

Middle-order batter David Bedingham, South Africa's leading scorer in the cycle, proved in a warmup game against Zimbabwe that he's recovered from a broken toe sustained in April.

The finalists didn't meet in this cycle. Their last series was in January 2023, when Australia won 2-0 at home and dominated.

South Africa didn't play England either. It topped the standings with eight wins from 12 tests despite forfeiting a series in New Zealand to focus on its domestic Twenty20 league.

Australia also didn't play last-place Bangladesh. With 13 wins in 19 tests, Australia reached the final by beating India in January. It lost only twice away from home.

Lord's, the home of cricket, holds no demons for both teams.

South Africa has lost only once there in seven post-apartheid tests. The last appearance resulted in an innings victory inside three days in 2022.

Australia has not lost at Lord's for 10 years.

AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

South Africa's Marco Jansen attends a nets session at Lord's, London, Monday June 9, 2025. (Ben Whitley/PA via AP)

South Africa coach Stuart Broad speaks to Kagiso Rabada, right, during a nets session at Lord's, London, Monday June 9, 2025. (Ben Whitley/PA via AP)

Australia players during a nets session at Lord's, London, Monday, June 9, 2025. (Ben Whitley/PA via AP)

Australia's Marnus Labuschagne bats during a nets session at Lord's, London, Monday, June 9, 2025. (Ben Whitley/PA via AP)

Australia's Steve Smith bats during a nets session at Lord's, London, Monday, June 9, 2025. (Ben Whitley/PA via AP)

FILE - South Africa's captain Temba Bavuma plays a shot during the ICC Champions Trophy semifinal cricket match between New Zealand and South Africa at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, Pakistan, Wednesday, March 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed, File)

FILE - Australia's Travis Head plays a shot during the ICC Champions Trophy semifinal cricket match between India and Australia at Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Tuesday, March 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri, File)

FILE - South Africa's Kagiso Rabada celebrates during the ICC Champions Trophy semifinal cricket match against New Zealand at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, Pakistan, March 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed, File)

FILE - Australia's Josh Hazlewood, right, reacts after bowling a delivery on the second day of the first cricket test between Australia and India in Perth, Australia, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Trevor Collens, File)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.

Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.

Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”

Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”

Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.

“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”

He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”

Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.

More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.

With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.

Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.

In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.

Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”

Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.

“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.

The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.

The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.

Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.

In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)