Former Indian team captain and The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Sourav Ganguly on Tuesday confirmed that the venue for the ICC World Cup Test Championship (WTC) final has been moved to Southampton from Lord’s. After defeating England 3-1 in the 4 Test series at home, India will be flying to England to lock horns against New Zealand for the WTC final to be played from 18 to 22 June in Southampton at Rose Bowl Stadium.

The news came straight from the mouth of BCCI president Sourav Ganguly who will be traveling to Ahmedabad for the T20 series between India and England. While talking to news media, Sourav Ganguly said, “I’m looking forward to attending the World Test Championship final between India and New Zealand in Southampton.”

Ganguly cited the rise in COVID cases in London as the main reason for the change of venue for the inaugural edition of the ICC World Test Championship final in which Virat Kohli’s men and Kane Williamson’s team will clash.

“Yeah, it is in Southampton. It was decided long time ago. Due to COVID and them [in Southampton] have the hotel absolutely close. When England resumed play after COVID, they had a lot of matches in Southampton due to the same reason,” said Mr. Ganguly.

While the rumblings of a change in the venue were heard right after India defeated England in the fourth and final Test, the BCCI president’s claim does confirm things. However, one should note that the International Cricket Council (ICC) has still not confirmed as to if and where the venue has been moved.

In the interview, the BCCI president was also asked whether the World Test Championship pales in comparison to the shorter 50-over World Cup. To this, Mr. Ganguly replied, “Every trophy has its own value. The 50-over World Cup is an amazing spectacle. It (WTC) was a bit complicated this time because of the pandemic. We will see when every team has played an equal number of games.”

The tiger of Bengal also lauded the players and the team staff that went through bio-bubbles and have played cricket with professionalism and dedication. Mr. Ganguly said, “Massive achievements given what the players have gone through. Right from the IPL in September to early March and they are not finished yet. A good 6 months in bio-bubbles and what they have achieved is fantastic.”

Sourav ‘Dada’ Ganguly also congratulated team India skipper Virat Kohli, opener Ajinkya Rahane and specially mentioned Rishabh Pant who turned things around for India in the game against Australia in Brisbane. “Congratulate Rahane, Kohli, everyone involved. The way Pant won India the Brisbane game was excellent.”

“Looking forward to the WTC final and I hope we get past New Zealand.” The BCCI president added.

ICC To Manage Pitch Curation for the WTC Final Clash 

During the 4-Test series against England, Indian pitch curators and the BCCI itself came under a lot of scrutinies for having pitches that gave bowlers an extra edge. Case in point, the third Test played between India and England was the shortest Test in the history of Test cricket with just 2 and half days of play transpiring between two teams.

Due to this, the Indian fans were worried that since Indian pitches were full of turn for Indian bowlers, the England Cricket Board will take its turn to create a grassy pitch helpful for seamers and pacers for the WTC Final.

However, Indian fans can rest assured that the mega event comes under the jurisdiction of the ICC and thus, it will be ICC who will be handling the pitch curation. As ICC is an International body, it does not usually curate pitches that are helpful to either one of the teams.

Cricket analysts and experts are of the belief that for the final of the World Test Championship, the ICC will create a pitch where pacers and swing bowlers would have an edge on the first day. For the second and third day, as the pitch will get a little older, batsmen would be aided and the final couple of days will see the spinners taking complete advantage of the pitch. This is ICC’s way of ensuring that the match produces a clear result by the end of the fifth day.

But what if the Test ends in a draw? Let’s take a look at a scenario where the match ends up drawing.

ICC World Test Championship Final: What will happen if the WTC final ends in a draw? 

Although India is sitting comfortably on the top of the World Test Championship table with 520 points in its kit, it does not make it certain that they will be awarded the crown of the World Test Champions if the final ends in a draw. In case the final match produces a draw result, the trophy will be shared by both the finalists: India and New Zealand. This is because there is no provision of a tie-breaker in the tournament.

In the case of a game not being able to end in the stipulated 5 days (due to bad weather conditions), the ICC has allotted a reserve day for the final Test. The reserve day will be taken into consideration if the regulated time of 30 hours of play (six hours/day) has not been fulfilled. Let’s take an example to understand this better, if two hours of play is lost due to bad weather or bad light, and if those two hours are covered on the next remaining days, there will be no reserve day.

 

Also read: India VS England: BCCI relieves Chepauk pitch curator following Kohli’s criticism