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Former Australia spinner Brad Hogg has recommended that the World Test Championship (WTC) final should be a timeless Test going ahead. New Zealand defeated India by eight wickets in a one-off WTC final at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton last month.
Following India’s defeat, there was an intense debate as to whether the WTC final should be played as a best-of-three series. Team India skipper Virat Kohli was among those who backed the suggestion.
However, according to Hogg, it would not be possible to fit in three Tests to decide the WTC winner, given the hectic cricketing calendar.
He, instead, suggested a timeless Test. Speaking on his YouTube channel, Hogg opined:
“People were talking about three Test matches for the final. (But) the calendar can’t have it. We have got too much cricket as it is. T20 tournaments all over the world, international T20 cricket World Cups, World Cups for the 50-over game and ICC 50-over events as well and the WTC final every second year. It is just too much on the calendar.”
Hogg added:
“It has got to be a one-off game and we make it a timeless Test match. That means that we are going to get a result and also it puts all players under extreme pressure to make sure that they are at the peak - mentally, physically and in form for the big event. We want to bring something back that was in the original format of the game. We have had 99 timeless Test matches. We need to make it 100 and move on from there.”
Fixturing of WTC matches needs to be correct: Brad Hogg
There was some criticism of the ICC around the scheduling of the inaugural WTC. New Zealand got a taste of the conditions beforehand, playing two Tests against England, in a series which was not part of the WTC cycle.
India, on the other hand, directly went into the WTC final, without any proper practice. Hogg agreed that the arrangement was a bit unfair on India. He recommended:
“We must make sure that all Test-playing nations are playing a series that finishes two weeks before that WTC final happens so that they are prepared for the actual game. We can’t have a situation like we had last time when New Zealand played two pointless Test matches, which weren’t counting towards the World Test Championship (WTC), against England in the conditions that they were going to play in. India (were) coming off a T20 tournament, not having Test match cricket under their belt. We cannot afford to have that little bit of disadvantage going into a big game like the WTC final.”
Hogg further suggested that the conditions on offer should have all aspects of the game involved, which definitely wasn’t the case in Southampton. He explained:
“Conditions msut be prepared so that we have all aspects of the game involved in it. Spin did not play a huge part in this Test match in England, because of the weather conditions and also because time was running out at the end when the pitch was drying out. Spinners couldn’t come into play.”
The 2021-2023 WTC cycle will begin with the five-match Test series between India and England, starting August 4.
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