The second final of the World Test Championship (WTC) will be played at The Oval in London from June 7 to 11. The ICC, when confirming the dates, said that there will be a reserve day for the final, June 12.
The dates place the WTC final between the IPL final, which is usually in late May or early June, and Ashes, which begins on June 16 in Birmingham.
There are three series to go in this WTC cycle, with India hosting Australia for the four-test Border-Gavaskar Trophy, New Zealand hosting Sri Lanka for two tests and South Africa hosting the West Indies for two tests. No finalists have yet been confirmed, with Australia, India, Sri Lanka and South Africa the only teams in contention.
As it is, Australia is in a prime position to be one of the teams contesting the WTC final: if they draw just one of their four Tests against India and miss no penalty points due to low overage rates, they will seal their place in the final. Anything less than that, and Australia would be dependent on other results.
For the Border-Gavaskar Trophy to be a confirmed dress rehearsal for the final, India has to beat Australia 3-1 or better. Again, anything less than that and India would be dependent on other outcomes getting their way.
Even if Sri Lanka and South Africa sweep their respective Test series, they would still be dependent on each other’s results.
