James Anderson's combined WTC final XI is a bit of a shock

What would an XI formed from the two sides in the World Test Championship final - Australia and South Africa - look like? James Anderson is asked to his pick his line-up by making a choice between an Aussie and a South African for each slot. That's tough, but we're still a bit surprised by his picks.

For his openers, he picks Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne over Tony de Zorzi and Ryan Rickleton. His middle order is: Aiden Markram (over Cameron Green), Steven Smith (over Temba Bavuma) and Travis Head (over Tristan Stubbs). The wicketkeeper's position goes to Alex Carey (over Kyle Verreynne). At No. 7 is Wiaan Mulder over the Aussie allrounder Beau Webster, and he picks Pat Cummins over Marco Jansen.

The choice that is the hardest for Anderson is among fast bowlers: Mitchell Starc or Kagiso Rabada. He agonises over it, saying, "Oh no, you can't do that to me," but eventually picks Rabada. His spinner of choice is offspinner Nathan Lyon (over Keshav Maharaj). And finally, the bowling attack is finished off by choosing Josh Hazlewood over Dane Paterson. That's eight Australians in an Englishman's XI - wow! Not what you expect to hear in an Ashes year.

"It's a lot of Aussies in there. I don't like it at all," grumbles Anderson. He has our sympathies.

The WTC final kicks off today, June 11, at Lord's. Australia are the defending champions, having beaten India in the 2023 final, while South Africa are making their first appearance in the final.