WTC Final Reserve Day: The upcoming historic final of the World Test Championship could see the players playing on a sixth day as well.
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The upcoming final match of the inaugural ICC World Test Championship between India and New Zealand in Southampton from June 18 could see players continuing to play on the sixth day of the match.
While six-day Test matches at the highest level are a thing of the past, ICC’s playing conditions for the historic match have a place for play being carried on till the sixth day to ensure that a the required number of overs are bowled in the match.
Considering how weather in England has a tendency of playing spoilsport, the same is a welcome move as neither players nor fans would want a rain-affected final match.
WTC Final Reserve Day
Readers must note that a reserve day (June 23) in the Test Championship final will only be used to “ensure five full days of play”. In simple words, it will only be used if lost overs (due to any reason) won’t be completed in the first five days.
Considering that there is no interruption throughout the five-day period, the reserve day wouldn’t be used to just yield a clear result. In case the match ends in a draw on the fifth day (with no loss of overs in the match), both the teams will share the trophy and not continue playing on the sixth day.
It is worth mentioning that the reserve day (at maximum) would comprise of 330 minutes or 83 overs before the last actual hour. Otherwise, only the amount of overs lost will be bowled on the reserve day.
“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.
“In the event of time being lost during the match, the ICC match referee will regularly update the teams and media about the way in which the reserve day may be used. The final decision on whether the reserve day needs to be used will be announced at the scheduled start of the last hour on the fifth day,” ICC said in a statement published on their website.
