ICC announces World Test Championship final dates, venue

The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Tuesday announced the dates and venue for next year’s ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final.

The one-off Test will be played at the Lord’s cricket stadium from  June 11-15, with June 16 available as a reserve day if required.

It will be the first time that Lord’s has been used for the World Test Championship final, with Southampton as the venue for the first edition (2021) and The Oval as the venue for the second edition (2023), that were won by New Zealand and Australia respectively.

“The ICC World Test Championship Final has quickly become one of the most anticipated events in the cricketing calendar and we are pleased to announce the dates for the 2025 edition,” Allardice said.

The match will be played between the top two sides on the standings at the completion of the current cycle, with Rohit Sharma’s India currently sitting in pole position ahead of reigning champions Australia.

There are still plenty of points available for teams though, with New Zealand (third), England (fourth), Sri Lanka (fifth), South Africa (sixth) and Bangladesh (seventh) still well in contention for a place in the one-off decider.