Just like the Indian skipper Rohit Sharma proposed last year, Nathan Lyon, one of Australia’s best bowlers in the longest format is also in line and wants the WTC Final to be a 3-match affair, to decide who takes home the crown.
The Australian spinner feels that a multi-match structure would better represent the spirit of Test cricket than a single-match competition where a series’ fate can be decided by a single session. A 3-match series would provide teams with a perfect opportunity to fight it out for one of the most prestigious crowns in cricket ‘The ICC Test Championship Mace’.
“One thing I would like to see, I’d like to see the World Test Championship Final potentially in a three-match series. That may become a little bit better because you potentially can lose a Test match in one session where [in a three-match series] it may allow teams to bounce back and show their dominance and win 3-0. We’re pretty time-poor anyway and that’s going to be a challenge but that’s one thing I would change,” Lyon, the greatest Australian spinner, since Shane Warne, with 530 wickets, tells ICC.
Lyon further, stated that the games can take place in England, Australia, or India. “You potentially could go one in England, one in India, one in Australia, so you have all different conditions, but obviously, the timing of that changes everything. I don’t think we’re going to get on the MCG in the middle of August, just putting it out there.”
New Zealand and Australia have been crowned the Test Champions of the world in the previous two cycles, with both sides defeating India in the finals. England hosted both the finals, where the conditions did not favor the Indian side, who otherwise have been dominant in the longest format in the past 4-5 years. The next WTC Finals is also set to take place in England at the Home of Cricket in Lords from the 11th of July 2025 and India are yet again well in line to play their third consecutive championship game.
Lyon emphasized that every match in the two-year cycle stays competitive and important because the World Test Championship format does away with “dead rubbers” in individual series. He thought back to that famous game earlier this year in Brisbane against the West Indies, where Shamar Joseph’s outstanding bowling performance proved to be the difference between Australia’s defeat and victory in an exciting encounter.
“Oh, yeah. I’ll just say it’s [World Test Championship] the pinnacle for Test cricket. People say it’s sometimes a dead rubber when you turn 2-0 up in a three-match series or whatever it may be. But I feel like there’s no more dead rubbers. I’ve never considered them dead rubbers, but there’s always points on offer now. You look at us last year losing against the West Indies at the Gabba hurt us a fair bit.”
For Lyon, the World Test Championship is the pinnacle of Test cricket and a perfect World Cup substitute. “It’s not tournament play. You can’t just be scraping into the semi-finals and losing two games or what not. You’ve got to be consistent over the two years of the cycle,” the 36-year-old off-spinner said.
