The inaugural World Test Championship final is just a few days away with New Zealand slated to take India a first of it’s kind. The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Monday announced that the winners of the final will bag home USD 1.6 million alongside the Test Championship Mace while the losing team will be awarded USD 80,000. In case of a draw or a tie, the total prize money of USD 2.4 million will be split among the two teams.
For the first time in this format that there will be world champions. The ICC Chief Executive Geoff Allardice during an interaction with the media said, "It (the WTC) has come to symbolise the best team in Test cricket, and with the Test championship now being used as the vehicle to identify the best team in Test cricket, the mace is on offer,"
Further, in a statement, it was described by the world governing body that the Test mace which was earlier awarded to the teams topping the Test rankings will now be awarded to the team winning the ICC Test Championship title. In case the match ends in a stalemate both teams will be sharing the trophy.
Meanwhile, the Aussies who narrowly missed out on a final berth will be awarded USD 450,000 for finishing third while England and Pakistan will be awarded USD 350,000 and USD 200,000 respectively. The other four teams part of the competition including Sri Lanka, South Africa, West Indies and Bangladesh will receive USD 100,000 each.
The WTC final will be contested at the Rose Bowl in Southampton from 18th June. June 23 has been kept as a reserve day in case the time lost in the regular hours of play cannot be made up on the same day. If the reserve day comes into the equation it will comprise of a maximum of 83 overs plus the last hour of play.