Daily Times

LAHORE: The 2nd World Test Championship (WTC) final will be played at The Oval in London from June 7 to 11. The International Cricket Council (ICC), while confirming the dates on Wednesday, said that there will be a reserve day for the final, on June 12. The dates place the WTC final between the Indian Premier League final, which is expected to take place on May 28, and the Ashes, which starts on June 16 in Birmingham. There are three series to go in this WTC cycle, with India hosting Australia for the four-Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy, New Zealand hosting Sri Lanka for two Tests, and South Africa hosting West Indies for two Tests. No finalist is confirmed yet, with Australia, India, Sri Lanka and South Africa the only teams in contention. As things stand, Australia are in a prime position to be one of the teams contesting the WTC final — if they draw just one of their four Tests against India, and don’t drop any penalty points due to poor over rates, they will seal their place in the final. Anything less than that, and Australia would be dependent on other results.

For the Border-Gavaskar Trophy to be a confirmed dress rehearsal for the final, India have to beat Australia 3-1 or better. Again, anything less than that and India would depend on other results going their way. Even if Sri Lanka and South Africa sweep their respective Test series, they would still be dependent on others’ results. In September last year, the ICC had announced The Oval and Lord’s respectively as the venues for the next two WTC finals – this year’s and for the third cycle that ends in 2025. New Zealand had won the inaugural WTC final, in June 2021, beating India by eight wickets in Southampton.

WTC fixtures remaining in the 2021-23 cycle

Ind vs Aus, Nagpur, Feb 9-13

Ind vs Aus, Delhi, Feb 17-21

Ind vs Aus, Dharamsala, Mar 1-5

Ind vs Aus, Ahmedabad, Mar 9-13

SA vs WI, Centurion, Feb 28-Mar 4

SA vs WI, Johannesburg, Mar 8-12

NZ vs SL, Christchurch, Mar 9-13

NZ vs SL, Wellington, Mar 17-21.