Proteas quick ready to spoil Australia's party at WTC25 Final

By Jonathan Healy, at Lord's

South Africa fast bowler Lungi Ngidi looms as the wildcard that could play a major role in the Proteas' quest to win the ICC World Test Championship Final at Lord's.

While fellow quicks Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen have taken much of the limelight ahead of the Ultimate Test against Australia that commences on Wednesday, Ngidi is set to play a big part in South Africa's fearsome pace attack having shaken off a frustrating recent period highlighted by injury.

Ngidi went through his paces during an intense training session at Lord's on Sunday and the talented 29-year-old appears primed for the one-off Test again the Aussies at the Home of Cricket.

"I feel very ready as I have had a lot of time to prepare for this," Ngidi told ICC Digital.

"It's any cricketer's dream to play at Lord's. I've been blessed with the opportunity before, playing England at Lord's and that was quite something for me with the nerves and the excitement.

"But coming back this time around, the nerves are a lot more settled. There is obviously a big title on the line, but the beautiful thing about Test cricket is the process pretty much remains the same and having that consistency helps me relax as a player."

It was Rabada that proved the match-winner in South Africa's last visit to Lord's, with the star quick claiming a five-wicket haul in the first innings as the Proteas crushed England by an innings and 12 runs inside two and a half days.

Ngidi reflected on his memorable first visit to the iconic London venue and believes Rabada could be primed to produce another scintillating spell this time around in the Ultimate Test.

"The last time we were here, I knew that he (Rabada) wanted to get his name on the honours board," Ngidi said.

"The best way for me to help him in terms of doing that was to be as consistent and as patient as I could be with the lines that I bowled and not trying to be too extravagant.

"But I knew that with the way he bowls, wickets are going to come at some stage. For me, it was just to keep it quiet on the other end. Just understanding that before we went onto the field, my job was already pretty clear.”

South Africa have come close to breaking their long drought in Men's ICC tournaments in recent times, with the side having reached the final of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup last year and then knocked out of the ICC Champions Trophy at the semi-final stage earlier this year.

Ngidi thinks his side are capable of defeating Australia and ending their long wait without a major trophy and believes the impact on cricket in South Africa could be huge if they do claim the mace at Lord's.

"I don't think I can put it into words, to be honest," Ngidi said.

"We've come close over the last couple of years now with other different tournaments. For me, this is the ultimate form of cricket and to be able to bring this back home would be a dream come true.

"I don't want to jinx anything, but it would be awesome. I think it could change the landscape of cricket in South Africa and Just bring that focus back to red-ball cricket."