ICC cautious but the World Test Championship proceeding according to plan

The International Cricket Council (ICC) is optimistic of the chances of concluding World Test Championship. The ICC believes that the tournament is proceeding as planned so far and the fate of the final at Lord's depends on how many postponed series can be rescheduled.

Speaking to Espncricinfo, Geoff Allardice, ICC's General Manager (Cricket Operations) stated that everything was going as planned.

"At the moment, everything is proceeding as planned, the series in England right now is part of the World Test Championship and all of the series that have been identified will be part of the Championships. It's about getting a feel for whether they can all be completed within the competition window ending in March next year," said Geoff Allardice.

The pandemic has thrown the World Test Championship scheduling off

The Coronavirus pandemic has thrown ICC's entire scheduling of the World Test Championship into a tizzy.

Sri Lanka vs England, one Test between Pakistan and Bangladesh, Bangladesh vs Australia, West Indies vs South Africa, Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh, and Bangladesh vs New Zealand are the Tests that have been postponed this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Consequently, Allardice mentioned that discussions were underway with the member nations about conducting the postponed matches that are a part of the World Test Championship.

"We're in discussions with the members now with the rescheduling of the series that have been postponed to date. With the English summer looking like getting both the Test series through, the next ones I know there's been some talk in the media about West Indies v South Africa are looking to find a suitable time." Allardice added.

The WTC points table

However, Allardice also mentioned that given the fluid nature of the impacts of the pandemic - with some countries still to reach a peak and others experiencing, or on the verge of, an expected second wave - decisions won't be taken quickly.

"In the last few months, we've learned that things change quite quickly, one week you think that you're not going to play for a while and then things begin to open up at a government level and then all of a sudden, things look possible." added the ICC official.

The final of the World Test Championship is slated to be played at Lord's Cricket Ground in 2021 with each of the top ten teams having played three home series and three away series over a two-year period.