The International Cricket Council (ICC) on February 8, 2023, reveals the dates of the World Test Championship final that will be played at The Oval later this year. India, Australia, Sri Lanka, and South Africa are the prominent contenders, and the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Test series between the ‘men in blue’ and Australia will decide who takes the flight to London and plays the all-important match.
India will be hosting Australia in a four-match Test series that starts on February 9, 2023, and will be played in Nagpur. The WTC (World Test Championship) finals will be played at The Oval, London from 7 to 11 June 2023 after the conclusion of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Keeping in mind what happened the last time around in the 2021 edition of the WTC finals, ICC has decided to keep a reserve day as June 12, 2023.
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New Zealand is the defending champions of the title but they have a very slim chance of qualifying for the final. The Kiwis defeated India by a margin of 8 wickets in 2021. The match was played in Southampton. As of now, the Aussies lead the points table for the ongoing cycle and have a healthy percentage of 75.56, followed by India at 58.93.
This is exactly why the upcoming Border-Gavaskar series is so important for both teams. The result of the series will decide who goes on to play in the finals which starts on June 7, 2023. Ahead of the series, Australian skipper Pat Cummins opened up on how motivating it is for him and his team to play in the ICC Test Championship.
Mark your calendars 🗓
The dates for the ICC World Test Championship Final later this year have been revealed 🤩#WTC23https://t.co/gOJcoWVc58
— ICC (@ICC) February 8, 2023
As per the quotes in India TV, Pat Cummins said: The prospect of playing a WTC (World Test Championship) Final has been a huge motivator for us, more so because we missed out the last time due to over rates. The interesting element about it is that both the teams get to play at a neutral venue which is The Oval this time. After a strong 12 months, we are confident that we can secure a place in the final after competing with India.”
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The Indian skipper, Rohit Sharma also reacted to the prospect of playing in a WTC final and he said: Leading team India out onto the field of play at the World Test Championship Final would be special. We have grown and developed as a team during this competition and to be in with a chance of lifting the Mace at the Oval in June, we know we first need to overcome a tough Australian side.
Sri Lanka with (53.33%) and South Africa (48.72%) are in the third and fourth positions and are in with a very slim chance of qualifying for the ICC World Test Championship final. The Lankans have two away Tests against New Zealand and South Africa’s last assignment is the two-match home series against the West Indies.
