World Test Championship Dates Out - (Source: AFP)
In a significant development, the ICC has fixed the dates for the 2029 World Test Championship final. A Cricinfo report mentioned that the prestigious red-ball event will take place in England, which has been the case for all the finals so far.
Notably, England have hosted the first three finals, and the Three Lions will continue as a host. Meanwhile, the dates for the 2029 World Test Championship Final have been locked, and it will run from June 8 to 12.
ICC Yet To Decide Venue For 2029 WTC Final
The ICC has decided upon the dates, but the venue is yet to be decided. Notably, three different venues in England have hosted the WTC final so far.
- 2021- Rose Bowl, Southampton
- 2023- The Oval, London
- 2025- Lord’s, London
In July, 2026, the ICC confirmed that the Oval will return to host the 2027 WTC final, which will run from June 9-13. It is worth noting that England will host the WTC final till 2031 after the ECB were awarded the right to host the next three finals in London in 2027, 2029 and 2031.
Olympics 2028 Qualifiers Postponed
The Cricinfo report stated that the Olympics 2028 qualifiers have been postponed and pushed to 2028 from 2027. The ICC had originally planned to host the Olympics qualifiers in 2027, but those events have been shifted to early 2028, less than six months before the start of the LA28 Games.
Notably, December 31 is the last date for the top four teams on the ICC T20I rankings to secure slots as the top teams eligible from Africa, Asia, Europe and Oceania in the men's category.
At present, India, Australia, the UK, and South Africa are the teams that are going through to the Olympics. Host USA will take the fifth spot, and teams will fight in a qualifier for the last spot.
T20 World Cup 2030 Dates Changed
The report also stated that the dates for the 2030 T20 World Cup have been changed as well. Earlier, the tournament was set to begin from June, but now the event has been postponed to July- August.
Further, the women's and men's T20 World Cups in 2028, scheduled to be played in Pakistan and Australia/New Zealand respectively, will be played back-to-back with just an 11-day gap between them.
