ICC still keen on hosting World Test Championship final in 2021 as scheduled at Lord's

The global COVID-19 pandemic had brought cricket to a standstill since March due to which Test playing nations had to cancel tours keeping in mind the safety of players. Cricket action only resumed back in June when England hosted West Indies for a Test series as part of the World Test Championship and since then, cricket has slowly been finding its feet again. Despite the ongoing pandemic, the International Cricket Council (ICC) is planning to go ahead with staging the inaugural World Test Championship final in 2021.

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All you need to know about ICC World Test Championship 

The World Test Championship was devised by the ICC to give the five-day format a separate status and make it a standalone showpiece to go along with the World Cup finals in the ODI and T20 formats. The World Test Championship that was started in 2019, will have nine Test countries competing against each other in six series which will be played in a home and away format for over a two-year period. The top two teams in the standings would then meet in the final in June 2021. Currently, India and Australia occupy the top two spots in the ICC WTC standings.

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ICC to go ahead with World Test Championship

According to various media reports, Tom Harrison, who is the CEO of the England and Wales Cricket Board, said that he has been notified by the ICC that the World Test Championship final will proceed as per schedule. He said that the ICC are working out what to do with the points from the series that haven't been played as well as how to distribute those points, which is obviously going to be matter in terms of who ends up playing in that final.

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Harrison, in his statement, further said that England cricket was keen to stage the final and that the ICC's preference would be that it takes place at Lord's since It is the home of cricket on an international level and has a role to play in the positioning of Test cricket. The England cricket board recently announced that said it lost about 100 million pounds ($127 million) because of the coronavirus this year, leading to a 20% cut in its workforce.

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ICC WTC standings: Virat Kohli-led India top standings

Speaking about the current ICC WTC standings, Virat Kohli leads the standings despite suffering a 0-2 series defeat in New Zealand in February. The Australian team, who will be hosting India later this year, reduced the gap after beating Pakistan (2-0) and New Zealand (3-0) to finish with a perfect home summer. Here's the updated ICC WTC standings -
 

Image Source: Indian Cricket Team / Instagram