Oval to host ICC World Test Championship 2023 final from June 7

The final of the second edition of the ICC World Test Championship will be played at The Oval, London from June 7 to 11 with a reserve day in place on 12 June. New Zealand had won the inaugural edition, defeating India by eight wickets in the 2021 final in Southampton.

The South London venue has hosted over 100 Test matches in its rich history, and in June will welcome the top two Test sides in the ICC World Test Championship standings, which will compete for the ICC World Test Championship Mace following two years of hard-fought competition.

The ICC World Test Championship Final is the pinnacle event in the Test calendar and is a week-long celebration of the longest format of the game. This Ultimate Test is the culmination of two years of intense competition in the ICC World Test Championship, spanning 61 Test matches over 24 series played to date.

While the two competing nations may not yet be known, there are a host of significant fixtures due to play out in the coming weeks to determine the Finalists, and excitement is building ahead of June's clash.

Australia currently top the standings, with India in hot pursuit in second place, and both teams go head-to-head across a four-Test series from 9 February with a place at The Oval, and the coveted ICC World Test Championship Mace, firmly in their sights.

While six teams in total stand a chance of qualification, among the frontrunners to challenge the top two are Sri Lanka, who sit third in the standings and South Africa in fourth, who take on reigning WTC champions New Zealand and the West Indies respectively over two two-Test series during February and March.

As the drama ebbs and flows in the coming weeks, the ICC World Test Championship Final will undoubtedly present us with another absorbing encounter, where the victors will write themselves into the annals of this historical format of the game. (ANI)