..Roger Harper appointed to ICC committee

THE ICC Board has finalised Lord’s as the venue for the next two World Test Championship finals, scheduled for 2023
and 2025.

The inaugural WTC final was held in Southampton in 2021 when New Zealand got the better of India in four days.

That match was originally scheduled for Lord’s, too, but it had to be shifted to the Ageas Bowl due to the COVID-19 restrictions imposed by the UK government.

ICC chairman Greg Barclay had recently indicated in a chat with BBC’s Test Match Special that Lord’s was favoured mainly because the WTC final is scheduled in June – both in 2023 and 2025 – which falls in the English season.

“It’s June so that rules out a number of other venues and we’ve got to get certainty around where it’s hosted,” Barclay said. “We’re out of COVID-19 now so subject to arrangements being made and being able to be hosted out of Lord’s I think that’s the intention.”

The top nine Test teams are part of the WTC race which runs over a two-year cycle with each country playing six series – three home and three away. Apart from the context and relevance that the WTC has added to Test cricket – a view held by many including Barclay – it has also produced competitive cricket, with several teams still in the race for the 2023 final.

Meanwhile, former India batter VVS Laxman and former New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori have been added to the ICC Men’s Cricket Committee which is headed by Ganguly.

Both Laxman and Vettori were added as current player representatives while former West Indies all-rounder Roger Harper was appointed to the committee as past player representative. (Cricinfo)