India and New Zealand to be declared ‘joint winners’ in case of draw; WTC Final to have reserve day

There will be no tie-breaker to decide a winner in case of a draw or tie as the International Cricket Council (ICC) have confirmed that the World Test Championship trophy will be ‘shared’ should India and New Zealand play out a draw (or a tie). There was confusion around how a winner would be declared in case of a stalemate, but, in an official release, the ICC have confirmed that India and New Zealand will be declared ‘joint winners’ should the game end as a draw. 

The council have also confirmed that the one-off contest, which is scheduled to be played between June 18 and June 22 at The Rose Bowl in Southampton, will have a reserve day on June 23. The reserve day, however, will be used only to make up for the overs lost due to rain (or) bad light in the first five days of play. Should India and New Zealand play out a draw in the first five days, with there being no overs lost, then the reserve day will not be used, with the two teams sharing the trophy. 

“The Reserve Day has been scheduled to ensure five full days of play, and it will only be used if lost playing time cannot be recovered through the normal provisions of making up lost time each day. There will be no additional day’s play if a positive result is not achieved after five full days of play and the match will be declared a draw in such a scenario,” the release claimed. 

“In the event of time being lost during the match, the ICC Match Referee will regularly update the teams and media about the way in which the Reserve Day may be used. The final decision on whether the Reserve Day needs to be used will be announced at the scheduled start of the last hour on the fifth day.”

The ICC have also confirmed that the final will see the following changes being implemented:

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.