ICC to finalise playing conditions for WTC final; reserve day a major bone of contention

Amidst confusion as to what happens if the World Test Championship (WTC) final between India and New Zealand ends in a draw, the ICC will be revisiting the playing conditions for the marquee clash scheduled to begin on June 18 in Southampton. According to a report by TOI, the governing body could finalise the playing […]
 
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ICC to finalise playing conditions for WTC final; reserve day a major bone of contention

Amidst confusion as to what happens if the World Test Championship (WTC) final between India and New Zealand ends in a draw, the ICC will be revisiting the playing conditions for the marquee clash scheduled to begin on June 18 in Southampton.

According to a report by TOI, the governing body could finalise the playing conditions for the WTC final by the end of this week and clarify the course of action if there is no outright result after the first five days of play.

When it formulated the WTC, the ICC mentioned in a detailed FAQ that a reserve day would be kept for the final. Interestingly, however, that clause was soon removed from the ICC website, with it also stated that the two teams will be declared joint winners if it’s a draw.

Now, the reserve day is a major bone of contention, as according to the initial plan, it was to be deployed only if there were hours lost during the span of the first five days.

Also Read: How Have New Zealand’s Top 5 Quicks Fared In The World Test Championship (WTC) So Far

ICC to finalise playing conditions for WTC final; reserve day a major bone of contention
ICC to finalise playing conditions for WTC final; reserve day a major bone of contention

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ICC to finalise playing conditions for WTC final; reserve day a major bone of contention

“The idea was to ensure that the match is played out in the 30 hours in the first five days,” an ICC source told TOI. “And the reserve day would come into play only if a total of 30 hours were not played in the first five days. That would have meant that the result had a lesser chance of being influenced by weather.”

The previous playing condition for the reserve day to kick-in was bound to be a cause of ambiguity, with the issue as contentious as the over-rate not even factored in. For a five-day WTC final, the match is supposed to have a maximum of 450 overs.

“The idea of having joint winners also doesn’t sit very well given it’s the first time a WTC final is being played. So, one has to have maximum options open to get a result out of the match. The ICC committee is working on it and it should be out this week,” the source added.

The final doubts hovering over the WTC final are expected to be cleared at an ICC board meeting on June 1. The ICC could also announce the next cycle for the WTC spanning 2021-23 in the coming days, with the five-match Test series between India and England expected to be the curtain-raiser.

There is, however, scepticism amid some full-member countries regarding the next cycle, with complaints around the WTC’s formulation – not all teams play each other – and the method of allocating points – which was changed to adjust with the pandemic-hit cycle.

When he took over as ICC’s new chairman in November last year, Greg Barclay had put the future of WTC under threat when he mentioned that the tournament hasn’t achieved what it was intended to do for Test cricket.