Exclusive: From Proteas to Zimbabwe, Justin Sammons Eyes Lord’s Final as Clash of Bowling Titans

Former Proteas batting coach and now Zimbabwe head coach, Justin Sammons, believes that the World Test Championship final between South Africa and Australia at Lord's this week will boil down to which team's batting unit is going to survive the two high-octane bowling attacks. 

The Verdict 

Under the former Proteas head coach Mark Boucher, Sammons spent a number of years looking after the Proteas batting unit. 

Now, Sammons is the new head coach of the Zimbabwe team that is currently on the rise. In his time as Proteas batting coach, Sammons toured Australia, where South Africa lost their first Test series in Australia in almost two decades. 

However, Sammons has a very good understanding of the two teams, the Proteas and the Aussies. As a result, Sammons believes that the two sides' strengths lie within their bowling attacks. 

South Africa is led by a generational talent in fast bowler Kagiso Rabada, followed by the lanky Marco Jansen, Lungi Ngidi and spinner Keshav Maharaj. 

On the other hand, Australia have the experienced quartet - fast bowlers Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc, and spinner Nathan Lyon. 

Sammons believes that the two teams' batting units are going to be at the mercy of the bowling attacks this week. 

"I think it's two very well-balanced sides. They are evenly matched, and I think it's going to be a great final because of it. Ultimately, the strength of both teams lies within their bowling attacks," Sammons told SportsBoom.co.za. 

"They are two extremely strong attacks, and it's going to come down to whichever batting lineup is able to fare best against those attacks," he added. 

Transitioning from T20 to Tests 

Going into the final this week, the two sides have not played a lot of Test cricket, with South Africa's last Test being in January, while Australia last played in Sri Lanka in February. 

Most of the players have only had T20 cricket in the last two months, with most players from both teams having played in the recently concluded Indian Premier League. 

This brings concern as to whether or not they will be able to transition from T20 to Test cricket. 

Sammons highlighted that the transition is never an easy feat to complete. Having played a Four-Day match against South Africa at the Arundel Castle Cricket Ground last week, Sammons believes that the South African batters will be able to make the transition. 

"It is obviously one of the biggest challenges for them as they head into this Test final. I always find that it's a lot easier for the guys to go the other way around, to go from Test cricket into white ball cricket as a batter, it's a lot easier to make those adjustments," said Sammons. 

"It's always a little bit more difficult to go from T2-0 straight into Test cricket. They've got some time now following our few days in Arundel, and they've got another few days at Lord's, so they'll most certainly touch up on those basics, and I believe they'll be absolutely fine in their ability to adapt." 

The two sides will battle it out for the Test mace at Lord's from Wednesday, 11 June to Sunday, 15 June.