WTC final: Why are the matches played in June and in England?

India captain Rohit Sharma questioned the scheduling of the World Test Championship (WTC) final after his team suffered a defeat to Australia at The Oval on Sunday.

India’s 209-run loss to Australia is their second defeat in as many WTC finals. In the final of the inaugural edition, in 2021, which was held at Ageas Bowl in Southampton, India lost to New Zealand.

Now, coming straight after playing T20 cricket in the Indian Premier League (IPL), India had nearly a week to prepare for the five-day final. Naturally, Rohit felt it was unfair to play the WTC final immediately after the IPL and in England when his team didn’t have enough time to acclimatise to the conditions.

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“Why after the IPL final? Why can’t it be March? June is not the only month we should play the final. It can be played any time of the year and anywhere in the world, not just in England, it can be played anywhere in the world,” Rohit said after WTC final 2023.

The 2025 WTC final is also scheduled to be held in Lord’s. The dates for the final have not been confirmed.

While Rohit raised valid points, it’s difficult to envisage a WTC final in March and England comes across as a perfect host for the final in June. We explain why.

Why WTC final is held in June?

The already jam-packed international calendar doesn’t allow for the WTC final to be held in March or April or May. For example, the last Test of the WTC 2021-23 cycle was scheduled to end on 21 March, while the IPL started on 31 March. In such a case, it’s impossible to hold the WTC final in March. The only window available was after the end of the IPL, in June.

The same will be the case in the next cycle and in the editions after that.

In the men’s Future Tours Programme (FTP) for 2023-27, an extended window for IPL has been created by all the teams as very few international games have been scheduled from the middle of March to beginning June.

Also, due to the pressure created on the calendar by other franchise T20 leagues like Big Bash League (BBL), Pakistan Super League (PSL) and the start of new tournaments like SA20, UAE International League T20 (ILT20) and Major League Cricket (MLC) in the US (starts from July), it’s almost impossible to finish all the Test matches in a WTC cycle to have the final in March.

Why WTC final is held in England?

In the same vein, the question can be: can it be held outside England?

The major reason why England is seen as the perfect host for a WTC final in June is the weather at this period of the year. The English summer provides suitable conditions to host a match and there are fewer chances of the game being heavily affected by rain or heat.

“The way the cycle is set up we are always going to be playing it in the northern hemisphere summer,” ICC’s general manager Wasim Khan had said before WTC final 2023.

“Southampton initially, then we looked at everything from making sure we provide diverse venues as it stands within England. Lord’s was considered but the decision was made on The Oval for this. In terms of where they get played, in terms of the final right now, the UK suits the set-up of the tournament itself. It falls in line with northern hemisphere.”

There are two more major reasons why England emerges as one of the best options to host the final.

England continues to have packed crowds in Test matches and it’s no wonder the organisers prefer a country where they can manage a full house for an ICC final.

Another thing working in England’s favour is its time zone which also suits the broadcasters. This allows the ICC to schedule the match during prime time in the subcontinent.

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