The first season of the World Test Championship (WTC) was highly successful, and New Zealand won the final at Southampton by defeating India last year.
Now the inaugural champions of the WTC tournament are playing a three-match Test series against the hosts, England, at the Lords Cricket Ground in London, where the WTC Final in 2023 is likely to be hosted.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) is hoping to conduct the finals of the World Test Championship at the most iconic cricket venue, which is also known as the home of cricket, Lord's cricket ground in London.
The International Cricket Council had named Lord’s Cricket Stadium as the venue for the World Test Championship finals in 2021. But due to the restrictions of Coronavirus, ICC went ahead with Southampton as the venue.
The Ages Bowl Stadium in Southampton also logically suited India and New Zealand players. The stadium also hosted international matches during the world lockdown and pandemic.
The venue also helped the players be in the bio secure bubble because the hotel was near the Ages Bowl Stadium in Southampton.
The Coronavirus restrictions have been eased in the United Kingdom, and the bio bubble protocols have also been eased out.
So now, the International Cricket Council is hoping to host the WTC Final in 2021 at Lords Cricket Ground. The ICC chief said that the WTC Final fixture at Lords was always on the cards.
The Lord's venue looks certain for this mega WTC Final. With the United Kingdom (UK) out of the Coronavirus trouble, the ICC will make arrangements to host the WTC Final at Lords in 2023.
Last year, England could not qualify for the finals of the WTC. They hope to be one of the finalists the next summer, which would make the Lord's venue certain for the 2023 finals.
As of now, nothing has been fixed by the International Cricket Council, and there is a lot of work to be done before finalizing Lords as the venue for the World Test Championship final in 2023. But still, the main board, ICC, hopes to announce Lords as the venue for the Annual General Body Meeting (AGM), held in July.
The World Test Championship is like a world cup in Test cricket. It has revamped the red-ball format, which is also the oldest and most traditional format of the game.
Test cricket has been an integral part of their games for the full members, and they will continue to give preference for the red ball format as they have done in the past.
