Revealing his admiration for South African speedster Kagiso Rabada, England’s pace legend James Anderson believes the battle between Rabada and Australia’s Steve Smith could be pivotal in deciding the outcome of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) Final at Lord’s starting Wednesday.

South Africa’s pace attack will be led by Rabada along with Lungi Ngidi and Marco Jansen, while Australia boast the experienced pace trio of captain Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood. On the seaming Lord’s track, the result of the one-off Test is likely to be dictated by the pacers from both teams.

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“Here is definitely somewhere you need to pitch the ball up. A lot of people talk about the top of the off-stump being the ideal length, but I think here it’s more than three-quarters up the stump. That way you are a little bit fuller in length, so that’s my advice for the seamers,” Anderson, who has claimed 123 wickets at Lord’s across 29 Test appearances, said during an event at Lord’s.

Three of the top four bowlers in the ICC Men’s Test Rankings will feature in the WTC final, with Rabada (second), Cummins (third), and Hazlewood (fourth) all trailing India’s pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah at the top of the list.

Anderson described Rabada as one of his favourite bowlers and suggested that his duel with Australia’s seasoned batter Smith could be a decisive factor in determining the winner of the final.

“The main one for me will be Rabada against Steve Smith, and I think that could be a really good, interesting battle,” Anderson said.

“Steve Smith is one of the best batters in the world, and Kagiso Rabada is one of my favourite bowlers to watch. I think he’s got so many attributes that just make me want to tune into the TV and watch him. He’s a fantastic player, so I’m really looking forward to that battle.”

The veteran England pacer feels South Africa roping in his former teammate Stuart Broad in a consulting role before the one-off Test could prove a wise call.

“I think it’s a smart move from South Africa. He’s someone who’s had great success in English conditions, and he knows Lord’s in particular,” Anderson noted.

“He knows the ground very well, he’s had success here, and I think he can give a lot of information and advice to the South African team, which will be great from their point of view.”