The ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 final began on a typically overcast day in London. South Africa and Australia are battling it out in the final at Lord’s Cricket Ground, London, with the match having started on Wednesday, June 11th.
The weather on the opening day matched the usual gloomy London skies, and the forecast for the next four days isn’t promising either. Rain is expected, which could pose challenges for both teams as they vie for the championship.
ICC WTC: The anticipated rain may lead to lost playing time, potentially making it difficult to determine a winner within the scheduled five days. To address this, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has arranged a reserve day to compensate for any time lost due to weather interruptions.
ICC has kept reserve day for ICC WTC 2023-25 final on 16th June
This reserve day, set for Monday, will only be used if bad weather causes a significant loss of playing time that the umpires cannot compensate for. The final is originally scheduled to conclude on Sunday, June 15th.
A reserve day was previously used in the inaugural ICC WTC 2019-21 final between India and New Zealand. In that match, the first day was completely washed out in Southampton, prompting the use of a sixth day to make up for lost time.
In the ongoing ICC WTC 2023-25 final, South Africa won the toss and chose to field first. They got off to a brilliant start, with Kagiso Rabada dismissing Usman Khawaja for a 20-ball duck and Cameron Green for just four runs within the first hour.
Marco Jansen also made an impact by removing Marnus Labuschagne for 17 runs. These three quick wickets left Australia struggling at 46 for three.
ICC WTC: Australia enters the final as the defending champions, having defeated India in the last edition. South Africa, meanwhile, are appearing in the final for the first time and are eager to break their title drought with a victory.