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All eyes are set for the upcoming mega event in the cricketing world where India and New Zealand will face each other in the inaugural World Test Championship (WTC) final at the Rose Bowl, Southampton.
Ahead of the epic clash, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has revealed the playing conditions for the WTC. One of the major points in the playing conditions is that if the match ends up in a draw or a tie, both teams would be crowned as joint winners.
Another aspect is that a Reserve Day has been allocated as well to make up for any lost time during the regular days of the summit clash, which is scheduled to be played from June 18 to 22.
June 23 has been set as the Reserve Day.
“The playing conditions confirm that a draw or a tie will see both teams crowned as joint winners as well as the allocation of a Reserve Day to make up for any lost time during the regular days of the Final – scheduled to be played from 18 to June 22, with June 23 set aside as the Reserve Day. Both of these decisions were made in June 2018, before the commencement of the ICC World Test Championship,” the ICC said in its media release.
The main reason behind implementing the Reserve Day is to ensure the full five days of play happens. Notably, it will only be used if lost playing time can’t be recovered through the normal provisions. Another noteworthy point here is that if the full five days of the play occur, there will be no additional day’s play in that scenario, and the match will be declared a draw.
Further, if time is lost during the match, the ICC Match Referee is supposed to provide regular updates to the teams concerning how the Reserve Day may be used.
“The Reserve Day has been scheduled to ensure five full days of play, and it will only be used if lost playing time cannot be recovered through the normal provisions of making up lost time each day. There will be no additional day’s play if a positive result is not achieved after five full days of play, and the match will be declared a draw in such a scenario,” the release added.
The final will also see the enactment of the following points:
- Use of Duke ball: India use SG balls at home while the Black Caps play with Kookaburra. However, in the WTC final, Grade 1 Dukes balls shall be used.
- DRS Reviews: The height margin of the Wicket Zone has been elevated to the top of the stumps. It has been done to certify that the Umpire’s Call margin around the stumps concerning both height and width remain the same.
- Player Reviews: The batters who got out or the fielding skipper before going for a player review may confirm with the on-field Umpire whether a genuine attempt has been made to play the ball or not.
- Short Runs: If there is a ‘short run’ case, then the Third Umpire will automatically review any such and let the on-field Umpire know before the next ball is being delivered.
