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Ahead of the much-anticipated World Test Championship (WTC) final between India and New Zealand, the overcast weather conditions in Southampton are grabbing the limelight.
While the scheduled start of the first day of play at the Ageas Bowl is just an hour away, reports coming are claiming that the opening day’s play in Southampton could either be delayed or completely washed out.
Giving an update, BCCI tweeted:
"Good morning from Southampton. We are just over an hour away from the scheduled start of play but It continues to drizzle here. The match officials are on the field now.."
According to BBC Weather, the rain can be torrential at times during the day with thunder and lightning. The afternoon will also see further ‘heavy, thundery spells of rain’.
Also, the cloud cover is forecast to be a high 94% while the temperature will be around 16 degrees Celsius. The prediction for most of the other four days is not too bright either, with forecasts for further rains.
If overs are lost due to the weather in Southampton, a reserve day (June 23) has been kept to make up for it. But, considering the weather prediction, things are not looking all that great as far as hopes of a result in the WTC final are concerned.
Southampton weather trends on Twitter
While play is unlikely to begin on time on Day 1 in Southampton, posts related to the weather for the WTC final have been pouring in on Twitter. Here is a compilation of some reactions:
What happens if the Southampton Test is drawn or washed out?
With Southampton's weather forecast for the WTC final not very encouraging, there is a possibility the match could either end in a draw or, in worst case scenario, might be washed out altogether.
In case of a draw or a no result in Southampton, both India and New Zealand will be declared joint winners as per the ICC playing conditions for the WTC final. There have been calls for the final to be a best-of-three event, but the ICC ruled out the possibility owing to the crammed cricketing calendar.
The ICC came under fire a couple of years back when England were declared winners of the 2019 World Cup final against New Zealand even after the match and the subsequent Super Over ended in a tie.
Many experts felt both the teams should have been declared joint winners. However, England were crowned world champions on a bizarre boundary count rule.
