Lord’s is announced as the venue to host the WTC final in 2023 and 2025, taking place in June.
The International Cricket Council has settled Lord’s to be the venue for hosting the successive two World Test Championship (WTC) finals in 2023 and 2025. The decision was rubber-stamped by the ICC’s AGM, which was finalised on Tuesday in Birmingham.
The inaugural was scheduled at Lord’s in 2021 for the World Test Championship final (WTC) but had to be shifted to Southampton in Ageas Bowl due to the COVID-19 restrictions which were present in the country. New Zealand won against India in the final, which lasted for four days.
ICC chairmen Greg Barclay while chatting with BBC’s Test Match Special earlier this season, stated that Lord’s is most likely to host both the WTC finals in 2023 and 2025 as they are scheduled in June, and England will not be able to host it due to their working with the County Championship seasons.
“It’s June so that rules out a number of other venues and we’ve got to get certainty around where it’s hosted. We’re out of Covid now so subject to arrangements being made and being able to be hosted out of Lord’s, I think that’s the intention,” Barclay said
Other than Zimbabwe, Ireland and Afghanistan, nine teams are in for the WTC finals who will play a six-match series, three in home ground and the rest three away for a total span cycle of 2 years. Rest of the teams are still competing to make their place in the WTC final.
The former India batsman VVS Laxman and New Zealand’s captain Daniel Vettori have been listed in the ICC Men’s Cricket Committee which is leaded by India’s Ganguly. Both Laxman and Vettori were added as a part of current player representatives while former West Indies all-rounder Roger Harper has been appointed as the past player representative.
