South Africa begin WTC title defence in Lahore

"You can't have fun all your life." It was an odd way for Vernon Philander to respond to being congratulated on his recent engagement to be married. In his defence, he had other matters on his mind.

Philander was about to begin a press conference at Lord's on August 20, 2012 in the giddy afterglow of his 5/30 - which sealed South Africa's series victory over England and secured the ICC Test mace. Almost 13 years later, South Africa again annexed the mace at Lord's, this time beating Australia by five wickets in the WTC final.

Again the afterglow was giddy. Indeed, if you're a cricketminded South African you are no doubt still giddy with the happiness that burst into your world on June 14 this year. But Philander was right. You can't have fun all your life. You have to move on.

It is, after all, time. South Africans have had almost four months to get over their team's singular success at senior level, male or female. If the lame response to the nationwide trophy tour last month was anything to go by, the public's hearts and minds were already elsewhere.

Now, the team are, too. They're in Lahore, where they will begin the defence of their title against Pakistan on Sunday.

Of the XI who beat the Australians, Temba Bavuma and Lungi Ngidi are not in the squad and Keshav Maharaj will miss this match. Bavuma and Maharaj are injured - see below for the details - and Ngidi has been deemed unsuited to the likely conditions.

South Africa's victories over Pakistan in Centurion in December 2024 and January this year clinched their place in the WTC final, but they know Shan Masood's side won't be easily dealt with at home. That said, the Pakistanis might have to rely on muscle memory. They went home from South Africa to play two Tests against West Indies in January - and they haven't been seen in the format since.

Both of those games were played in Multan. Pakistan won the first by 127 runs with Sajid Khan taking match figures of 9/115. But the Windies then levelled matters with a 120-run win despite Noman Ali's match haul of 10/121. The visitors' trump card was Noman Ali, who took 9/70.

So doubtless there will be turn. But not in the same way, if Azhar Mahmood's comments below are to be believed.

When: October 12 to 16, 2025; 10am Local Time (7am SAT, 5am GMT, 10.30am IST)

Where: Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore

What to expect: Hot with no chance of rain. But the air quality will be, the weather gizmos say, "very unhealthy" until late on Monday night. Lahore hasn't hosted a Test since March 2022 - well before October last year, when the Pakistanis discovered the value of tweaking pitches in their favour in a series against England.

Team news:

Pakistan: Will uncapped Asif Afridi replace Noman Ali? Afridi's inclusion would raise eyebrows because he is 38. Thing is, Noman is a year older.

Possible XI:Shan Masood (capt), Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam, Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan, Salman Agha, Sajid Khan, Abrar Ahmed, Khurram Shahzad, Asif Afridi.

South Africa:

Temba Bavuma is out with a calf problem, which means Aiden Markram will captain. Keshav Maharaj's groin issue means he will miss this match but should be back for the second Test in Rawalpindi. Simon Harmer, who last played a Test in March 2023, is in the squad.

Possible XI:Aiden Markram (capt), Ryan Rickelton, Wiaan Mulder, Tristan Stubbs, David Bedingham, Corbin Bosch, Kyle Verreynne, Marco Jansen, Senuran Muthusamy, Simon Harmer, Kagiso Rabada.

What they said:

"It won't spin like it did during the England and West Indies series. It will definitely spin, but gradually as the match progresses." - Azhar Mahmood eases the South Africans' concerns.

"We're champions now, so there's a new sort of pressure." - Kyle Verreynne adjusts to South Africa's new reality.