New Delhi: The World Test Championship 2023 Final will be hosted by The Oval in June 2023 while the 2025 Final will be played at Lord’s, confirmed the International Cricket Council (ICC).
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 victors 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. The Oval 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.
Sri Lanka (53.33%), India (52.08%) and Pakistan (51.85%) round up the top five of the standings. With many series still to go in the current cycle, there could be many twists and turns in the points table before the two finalists are decided.
The next edition’s Final will take place at Lord’s in London, an iconic venue, which has hosted several high profile ICC matches, including the epic 2019 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup final.