The International Cricket Council (ICC) is busy figuring out two key aspects ahead of the World Test Championship final. The two aspects are ‘reserve day’ and ‘joint winners’ in case rain plays a spoilsport in the final. TOI has understood that the finalized playing conditions will be out this week. Afternoon showers in June is a constant feature of British summer and therefore rain is expected to interrupt the progress of the game.
Meanwhile, the apex body is in discussions regarding working on both these aspects ahead of the WTC final. The final will be played between June 18-22. As per ICC’s initial rules stated for the World Test Championship, thought on the reserve day was not factored in by them. While now they are thinking about it because they fear that they might lose hours in the first five days of the game.
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ICC To Decide On Key Factors By June 1
“The idea was to ensure that the match is played out in the 30 hours in the first five days. 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,” an ICC source told TOI.
The second point of debate is about joint winners. However, TOI’s report said that the idea of joint winners is not sitting well with the organisers of the event given that its the first season. The ICC is currently working to find a way to maximize the chances of deciding the winner of the game in the fairest of manners.
There also questions of the continuation of the tournament given the current conditions in which the events are being played. A decision of all of these factors will be reached upon on June 1. Meanwhile, England and New Zealand play the first of their two-match Test series at Lord’s.
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