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Reserve day, Dukes ball, new rules : ICC reveals playing conditions for the WTC final

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has revealed the playing conditions for the World Test Championship (WTC) final between India and New Zealand in Southampton.

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Sky247 Staff
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The International Cricket Council (ICC) has revealed the playing conditions for the World Test Championship (WTC) final between India and New Zealand in Southampton. The apex body announced that there will be a reserve day to make up for any time lost due to bad weather. The teams will cross swords for the WTC title from 18 - 22 June with 23 June kept aside as the reserved day. Also, if the match ends in a draw, India and New Zealand will be declared joint winners.

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"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 18 to 22 June, with 23 June 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 ICC said in its media release.

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The ICC further clarified that the reserve day will only come into play if the lost time could not be accommodated in the first five days. According to the current rules, the umpires can extend the play by half an hour at the end of day and start the next day half an hour early.

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"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."

ICC also confirmed that the summit clash will be played with Grade 1 Dukes balls. Both India and New Zealand don't use Dukes balls in their home games. While India use SG balls, New Zealand play with Kookaburra. Also, the WTC final will see three new rules regarding short runs, player reviews and DRS.

The third umpire will check for any short-run and inform the on-field umpire regarding the same. Also, the batsman or fielding skipper can consult the umpires if a genuine attempt was made to play the ball before referring a LBW decision upstairs. In case of 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."

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