World Test Championship: The 'Mecca of Cricket' Lord's might not host next year's final

It has been learned that the International Cricket Council (ICC) might be forced to move the final of the inaugural edition of the World Test Championship from the historic Lord's due to lack of financial agreement between the international body and the English and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).

The 'Mecca of Cricket' was scheduled to host the decider in June 2021.

'Another venue'

Speaking to ANI, sources in the know of developments said that there have been ongoing discussions between the ICC and the ECB, and the situation doesn't look promising at the moment.

"We could actually see the final of the World Test Championship set to be held from June 10 to 14 at the Lord's moved to another venue. Too early to get into the exact details behind this, but there are certain financial issues that need immediate resolving if the final has to happen at the Lord's and at the moment the clouds are grey is all I can say," the source pointed.

The status of the ICC World Test Championship

The Test championship has already faced a lot of trouble with the coronavirus pandemic bringing life to a standstill across the globe which also saw bilateral ties between teams getting canceled. The ICC on Thursday confirmed that the World Test Championship points system will be amended due to the pandemic.

The Board approved a recommendation from the ICC Cricket Committee, headed by former Indian Test skipper Anil Kumble, to change the competition terms for the event to determine how series affected by the global pandemic are accounted for on the points table.

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The revised rules for WTC

The WTC table will be revised to rank teams based on the percentage of points earned from the series played, meaning teams will be ranked in order of percentage of points earned which means that India who have 360 points are no longer the table-toppers as the top spot has now been occupied by the Tim Paine-led Australia who have 296 points in their kitty after the new rules came into effect.

 The Aussies have 82.22 percent points while Kohli & Co. have 75.00 percent points. England (292)  60.83 percent points take the third position. 

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(With ANI Inputs)