Dubai, Sep 21 (UNI): The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Wednesday revealed that the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023 Final will be hosted by The Oval in June 2023 while the 2025 Final will be played at Lord’s in London, England.
The ICC said that the exact dates for both finals will be decided in due course.
The two venues in London will succeed Southampton, which hosted the inaugural final between New Zealand and India in 2021. New Zealand emerged as the victor in the first edition of the World Test Championship.
The Oval will host the final in June 2023, with the top two teams from the World Test Championship standings making the cut. It has previously hosted the finals of the 2004 and the 2017 editions of the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy.
Australia and South Africa are currently the top two teams in the standings, with a host of teams on their trail, hoping to surpass them on the table.
Australia have a points percentage of 70, followed by South Africa on 60%. Australia and South Africa will also clash against each other in a three-match series in the current cycle in December-January, which could have a big bearing on the final points table.
“We are delighted to be hosting next year’s ICC World Test Championship Final at The Oval which has such a rich legacy and an amazing atmosphere, which is ideal for such an important fixture on the calendar,” said ICC Chief Executive Geoff Allardice.
