WTC final on schedule, says ICC

The final of the inaugural World Test Championship (WTC) remains on course to be held in June next year despite the disruption caused to the qualifying process by the Covid-19 pandemic, the ICC told Reuters on Tuesday.

The pandemic played havoc with the game's calendar, prompting cancellation of a number of Test series and complicating the process of allocating WTC points from those matches in the process.

"The planning is still in progress," a spokesman of the ICC said of the WTC final, without elaborating how the point system would be reworked.

"There is likely to be more clarity in the coming days once all stakeholders are aligned. There will be an announcement soon."

This year's Twenty20 World Cup in Australia had to be postponed because of the pandemic and the restrictions it forced.

The ICC launched the WTC last year to lend context to bilateral test series, giving the format its standalone showpiece like the World Cup in other formats.

India currently top the WTC points table, having played four series, followed by Australia who have played one fewer.

England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chief executive Tom Harrison last week underlined the logistical challenge of hosting the WTC final.