A closer look at the preparations for the World Test Championship

WTC finals

Cricket’s governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC), has decided that all cricket formats should have their own competition. Given that ODIs and T20s already have their premier championship tournaments, the ICC came up with another one for the Test format. Having been planned for a lot of years, the first edition of the World Test Championship only pushed through in 2019.

The inaugural season kicked off on August 1, 2019, and is yet to be concluded on June 18, 2021, in England. Like any other cricket match, the final match will be held in a biosecure bubble that will ensure the safety of the players and all the staff. As India and New Zealand both prepare for their final match, fans of both teams have already engaged in cricket bettin g activities to predict who will be the first-ever winner of the said Test Championship. If you are among those interested in knowing more about this upcoming
the tournament, here are some of the updates about each team’s preparations.

World Test Championship: New Zealand’s arrival

The New Zealand team departed for England last May 15. Aside from the WTC Finals, the Blackcaps also prepared for their two upcoming Test matches against the English team. The first match of the said tour is scheduled from June 2 to 7 while the second one is to be held from June 10 to 15.

So far, the team has already completed their 14-day isolation and is already prepared for their first upcoming match. Although the Kiwis are already in England, the team will also be subject to regular testing prior to and upon their arrival in Southampton.

World Test Championship: India’s arrival

India is currently planning their flight as they are a few days away from their flight. Before their flight, the Men in Blue have spent 14 days in a biosecure environment at home. There, they were regularly tested to ensure their safety. The team will arrive in the United Kingdom on June 3rd.

As per the biosafety protocols for the event, the Indian team will be onboard a charter flight that carries pieces of evidence of negative PCR tests. Upon their arrival, the team will proceed to the on-site hotel at Hampshire Bowl and spend a period of managed isolation there as well after being tested. All the players will have to remain in the biosecure bubble. There, they will be gradually allowed to push through with their activities upon earning more negative results in the regular testing.

World Test Championship: Match details

Details for the upcoming WTC finals were already announced. It was confirmed that the game will be played using Grade 1 Dukes cricket balls. Also, the ICC came up with a reserve day that ensures five days of play. It will only be used if the lost playing time can no longer be recovered by the normal provisions for each day. ‘In the event of time being lost during the match, the ICC match referee will regularly update the teams and media about how the reserve day may be used.

The final decision on whether the reserve day needs to be used will be announced at the scheduled start of the last hour on the fifth day, the ICC elaborated. Therefore, the reserve day is only a contingency measure and will not be used to get a result from the five full days of play. If the match ends up in a tie, then India and New Zealand will be crowned as joint winners of the inaugural World Test Championship.

World Test Championship: Additional rules

The final Test match will also apply the recent changes to international playing conditions. Here are the three new rules.
● The third umpire will automatically review all calls of short runs by on-field umpires and communicate the decision to the field umpire before the next ball is bowled.
● Before reviewing a leg-before-wicket (lbw) decision, the fielding captain or the dismissed batter can check with the on-field umpires whether they thought a genuine attempt was made to play the ball.
● For lbw reviews, the height margin of the wicket zone has been lifted to the top of the stumps to ensure the same umpire’s call margin around the stumps for both height and width.
These are just a few updates about the upcoming finals of the first-ever WTC. So, if you are rooting for India or New Zealand, stay updated on the latest cricket betting odds for this prestigious match.

Also Read: WTC Final: ‘Team India will adapt quickly and perform as we did in Australia’ – Ravi Ashwin