The ICC is revisiting the existing playing conditions for the WTC final to be played between India and New Zealand from June 18. According to a report in Times of India, the playing conditions will be out this week. Till now there is some confusion, as to what would happen in case of a draw. When the WTC was formulated, it was mentioned that a reserve day will be kept for the final of the tournament. But the clause was removed from the website, and also it was mentioned that in case of a draw, both teams would be declared joint winners.
“The idea was to ensure that the match is played out in the 30 hours in the first five days. And the reserve day would come into play only if a total of 30 hours were not played in the first five days. That would have meant that the result had a lesser chance of being influenced by weather,” an ICC source was quoted as saying.
But confusion still looms large. “The idea of having joint winners also doesn’t sit very well given it’s the first time a WTC final is being played. So, one has to have maximum options open to get a result out of the match. The ICC committee is working on it and it should be out this week,” the source added.
Meanwhile, all this, and the fate of the WTC will be discussed in the June 1 meeting. During the launch of the championship, it was also announced that the WTC would continue for the 2021-23 cycle as well.
The first series of the WTC 2021-23 would be the one between England and India, where the two nations will play five Tests. But still no one knows, what the points system of the championship would be.
From the ICC, there are some members who are skeptical of the success of this tournament. Greg Barclay, had said that WTC hasn’t achieved what it intended to. There have been multiple issues regarding the points system, format, with pandemic making the matters worse.
