ICC gives verdict on follow-on rules for the World Test Championship final
The excitement, build-up, and anticipation of the upcoming ICC World Test Championship final (WTC) have reached a peak with less than 15 days left for the nail-biting clash between India and New Zealand which begins on June 18 in Southampton.
While India reached England on June 3, New Zealand are battling it out against the hosts in a two-match Test series. Earlier there were a lot of speculations going around about the rules of the summit clash between the two teams, as to whether the International Cricket Council (ICC) has given out any specific rules for the inaugural WTC final.
After much deliberation, the ICC has now given a verdict on the follow-on rules for the finale stating the follow-on rules will be the same for the epic WTC final if, the first day of the match is completely washed away, as reported in Cricbuzz.
ICC on the playing conditions for the inaugural WTC final
According to the report, clause 14.1.1 of ICC’s playing conditions states the team can enforce a follow-on if they want on the opposition, if it has a minimum 200 runs lead. For special conditions, clause 14.1.2 mentions that the minimum lead must be 150 runs if the match is played between three or four days. If the match is played only for two days, then the minimum runs required is 100 and if the match is played for a sole day then 75 runs are required to enforce a follow-on.
Apart from keeping the follow-on rule same, the ICC has made one change to the WTC final by adding one day extra as June 23 will be used as a reserve day if the need arises due to rain and other unavoidable circumstances. Also, the apex world cricket body said if the match ends in a draw or tie, then both India and New Zealand will be declared as winners of the WTC final.
India are currently in Southampton undergoing a strict quarantine. The team members have taken to their Social media accounts to share pictures of the beautiful stadium in which the players seem pretty relaxed and happy. After the intense finale, India will battle it out against England in a five-match Test series.
