As decided in June 2018, if the ICC World Test Championship final between India and New Zealand ends in a draw or tie, both teams will be crowned as joint winners. The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Friday announced the playing conditions for the final at the Hampshire Bowl in Southampton next month.
As per the ICC release, the playing conditions confirm that a draw or a tie will see both teams crowned as joint winners as well as the allocation of a Reserve Day to make up for any lost time during the regular days of the Final -- scheduled to be played from June 18 to 22, with June 23 set aside as the Reserve Day.
Both of these decisions were made in June 2018, prior to the commencement of the ICC World Test Championship. 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. 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 match will be played using Grade 1 Dukes cricket balls.
The final will also see the implementation of the following changes to international playing conditions that came into effect with the ongoing ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Super League series between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka: 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.
