WTC 2021 Playing Conditions Explained: When Will Reserve Day Come in to Play And Why The Trophy Will be Shared in Case of a Draw

Less than three weeks to go for the mega final of the inaugural World Test Championship in the historic southern port town of Southampton, from whose shores more than a century ago sailed the Titanic and where from the 18th of June India and New Zealand would clash for the prestigious trophy. There has been a lot of chatter around the reserve day, the ball to be used for this grand final and what happens in case of a draw. We look at some of the important aspects of the playing conditions of the WTC Final.

The Reserve Day

The 23rd of June has been allocated as the Reserve Day for the WTC Final. The sixth day or the reserve day will have a maximum of 330 minutes or 83 overs with the additional last hour. This basically means that if in 325 minutes 83 overs are bowled on the 23rd of June, then the last hour kicks in (which will be time bound and not overs bound). Similarly, if 330 minutes lapse on the sixth day and only 81 overs are bowled, again the final hour will start clocking.

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Also, the reserve day will only be used to cover for time lost on a particular day/days which has not been made up on that day or on subsequent days. For example, if you lose half an hour on Day 2 due to rain but make it up by playing the additional half an hour on the same day, then no time has been lost in the match. Similarly, if you lose an hour of play on Day 2 but make up by playing the additional half an hour on Day 3 and Day 4, then again no match-time has been lost. However, if you lose, say, 5 hours of play on Day 1 and have only been able to make up for three hours over the course of the next four days, then a couple of hours of play will have to made up on the sixth day.

However, it is important to note that the reserve day will not be used just to achieve an outright result if even after five full days of play there is none. In that case, the match ends on a draw and both India and New Zealand are declared joint-winners.

The 60 Minutes Rule 

If the time lost due to rain/other reasons on the first five days is cumulatively less than 60 minutes and there is no outright result in sight at the end of fifth day, then both the teams can agree for an amicable draw. For example, India bat first and make 400 and then New Zealand by the end of Day 5 are 450 for 6 in the first innings and let us say only 40 minutes were lost due to rain over the course of all the five days – in such a case Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson can agree and call off the match as a draw without playing the sixth or the reserve day as there is no real chance of a result.

How Will Time Be Made Up On the 5th Day?

If on Day 5 there are more than 60 minutes of lost playing time, then those overs would need to be bowled in what would be the Actual last Hour on that day. The close of play would be rescheduled to 60 minutes from the start of the lost playing time. If there is more delay or interruption during the rescheduled final four, then an over would be cut every four minutes. Time lost due to such interruptions even during the rescheduled period would then be added to the reserve day.

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What Happens In Case of a Tie?

Both India and New Zealand would be declared joint winners in case the match ends in a tie or is abandoned.

The Dukes Ball & Neutral Umpires

The ball used for the final of the inaugural WTC will be the neutral Dukes Ball – used primarily for first-class matches in England. India’s home series and domestic cricket are played usually with the SG ball while the Kookaburra is used in New Zealand. Significantly, the Indian skipper Virat Kohli advocated the use of the Dukes Ball after the home series against the West Indies in 2018. He stated that the SG ball loses its shape, colour and seam too early and the Dukes Ball should be uniformly used all over the world in Test cricket.

Two Neutral Umpires would be officiating in Southampton for the mega final. This is also significant as the ICC had allowed home-umpires for all group matches in the WTC due to travel restrictions and bio-bubble protocols courtesy the Covid-19 pandemic.

Other Playing Conditions

Short Runs – The Third Umpire will automatically review any call of a ‘short run’ by the On-field Umpire and communicate the decision to the On-field Umpire prior to the next ball being bowled.

Player Reviews – The fielding captain or the dismissed batsman may confirm with the Umpire whether a genuine attempt has been made to play the ball prior to deciding whether to initiate a player review for LBW.

DRS Reviews – For LBW reviews, the height margin of the Wicket Zone has been lifted to the top of the stumps to ensure the same Umpire’s Call margin around the stumps for both height and width.

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• Dukes Ball
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• Kane Williamson
• Southampton
• Virat Kohli
• WTC
• WTC 2021