Picture Credit: ICC
With just hours left for the highly-awaited World Test Championship final between India and New Zealand to kick off, let's take take a look at the significance of the Test Championship mace, which the winner of the grand finale will take home. Along with the mace, the winning team will receive a prize money of USD 1.6 million, while the runners-up will get USD 800,000.
The mace has been designed by English luxury brand Thomas Lyte and has been created keeping in mind the global nature of Test cricket. The focal point of the mace is the cricket ball since it is at the core of the game whether being bowled, hit or fielded. Encircling the ball is the globe, which signifies the global reach of Test cricket. One can also see the silver gilt cricket ball through the oceans of the map.
Trevor Brown reveals the story behind Test Championship mace
The Test Championship mace was originally designed in 2000 by world renowned trophy designer Trevor Brown. Opening up on how the idea of the mace came into his mind, Brown revealed, "One of the moments that inspired the design...was seeing a cricketer grab a stump as a souvenir after a particularly close match. As the stump was waved aloft it occurred to me that a mace…could stand out against a typical cup design and be something quite different."
The much-awaited WTC final between India and New Zealand is all set to commence on Friday at the Ageas Bowl, Southampton. The fact that these two teams also happen to be the number 1 and number 2 ranked teams in the ICC rankings is a testimony to their supremacy in Test cricket over the two-year cycle.
The mace was previously given to teams topping the ICC Men's Test Team Rankings, but it will now be given to the WTC winners. In case, the final ends in a draw or a tie, the finalists will split the prize money for the first and second places and share possession of the mace during the time they remain champions.