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New Zealand have qualified for the ICC World Test Championship final after Australia toured South Africa, which comprised of three-match Test series, was postponed.
The news came in that Australia’s tour of South Africa was postponed because of ‘unacceptable’ Covid-19 risk. It is believed that the series will unlikely be scheduled. Cricket Australia’s interim CEO Nick Hockley said:
“Due to the public-health situation in South Africa, which includes a second wave and new variant of the virus, and following extensive due diligence with medical experts, it has become clear that traveling from Australia to South Africa at this current time poses an unacceptable level of health and safety risk to our players, support staff and the community.”
Within the country of South Africa, they remained at Level 3 lockdown (the strictest being Level 5) while parks and beaches were open. Even the curfew has been eased as instead of going with 9 pm to 5 am, they have now set the new timings from 11 pm to 4 am.
However, social gatherings remain prohibited.
WTC: New Zealand the first team to qualify for the final
Meanwhile, due to the postponed of the Australia-South Africa series, New Zealand has become the first team to qualify for the ICC World Test Championship final. They will play the final match at Lord’s, London on June 18, 2021.
That means that India, Australia and England will be fighting for the final spot with India lead’s the WTC points table.
India are more likely to qualify for the final, given their strong home record.
Australia could have qualified for the final first, had it been not for their four points docked due to the slow over-rate fine against India in the first Test. They are not out of the race yet.
The upcoming series between India and England, where four Test-matches will be played, the series will be crucial for all three teams. But the chances for India and England are higher, especially for India. Here are the scenarios for both India and England to qualify for WTC final.
WTC: India’s scenario to final
India need 70 points. They need to win the series against England by margins of;
2-1
3-0
3-1
4-0
WTC: England’s scenario to final
England need 87 points. They need to win the series against India by margins of;
3-0
3-1
4-0
WTC: Australia’s scenarios to final
Australia’s scenario is more difficult and they would need some assistance from the India-England Test series. They would need the series to go in the favour of;
England: 1-0, 2-0 or 2-1
India: 1-0
Who will qualify and join New Zealand in the WTC final? Have your say.
Read more: PAK vs SA: Why pitch supported spin in 1st Test in Karachi?
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