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The iconic Lord’s Stadium in England is likely to host the final of the ongoing World Test Championship 2021-23 cycle final. The inaugural ICC WTC 2019-21 cycle final was also scheduled to be played at the Lord’s but because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the final was shifted to the Ageas Bowl in Southampton.
But as the restrictions have ended in the UK and bio-secure bubbles have been reduced, the ICC could once again plan to host the final at Lord's. While speaking on BBC's Test Match Special at tea on the second day of the first England and New Zealand Test at Lord's, ICC chairperson Greg Barclay said “I think it is scheduled for Lord's, that was always the intention.”
He then continued saying, “It's June so that rules out a number of other venues and we've got to get certainty around where it's hosted. We're out of COVID now so subject to arrangements being made and being able to be hosted out of Lord's I think that's the intention.”
In the same segment, Barclay talked about how the WTC has helped Test cricket get some notoriety back. However, the ICC chairperson then also addressed that other full members may have to accept that they will play less Test cricket than they would like to. He said, “Men's Test cricket is something that represents the history and legacy of the game, it is what makes the game unique.
We are fortunate that we have other formats that can help us sustain Test cricket financially because other than one or two series it is effectively loss-making for boards - players will tell you it is ultimate test of cricket and they want to play it,” he continued.
"The Test Championship has driven some relevancy into it so in 10-15 years' time I still see Test cricket being an integral part. It may be that there is less Test cricket. Some countries may have to make room and play less Test cricket - some of them might have totally different long and short-form squads but also some of the smaller Full Members will have to accept from a resourcing point of view that they can't play the amount of Test cricket that they wanted to", Barclay concluded.