Lord’s to host ICC World Test Championship Final from June 11, 2025

The iconic Lord’s Cricket Ground in London will host the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) Final 2025 from June 11, announced the International Cricket Council (ICC).

The top two sides in the WTC standings will compete in the final. This will be the first time that Lord’s will be hosting the ICC WTC Final. Southampton and The Oval hosted the previous two editions of the WTC Final, in 2021 and 2023, respectively.

The WTC Final will be played from June 11 to June 15 with June 16 acting as a reserve day, should there be any weather or any other interruption.

The WTC is a two-year cycle and the 2023-25 cycle spans 69 gruelling Test matches over 27 series. The top two teams, calculated through the win percentage points, will advance to the final.

India are currently at the top of the WTC points table with 68.52% points while Australia are in the second place with 62.50% points.

New Zealand are third with England, South Africa, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and the West Indies completing the top nine teams.

The teams are awarded 12 points for a Test match win while six points are awarded for a tied Test. Four points are given for a drawn Test match. The points are also deducted if a team is fined for slow over rates.

New Zealand and India met in the inaugural WTC Final at Southampton in 2021 with New Zealand beating India by eight wickets. India progressed to the WTC Final in 2023 too and lost to Australia by 209 runs.

ICC Chief Executive Geoff Allardice said the WTC Final is a testament to the enduring appeal of Test cricket. “The ICC World Test Championship Final has quickly become one of the most anticipated events in the cricketing calendar. It’s a testament to the enduring appeal of Test cricket, which continues to captivate fans around the world,” he said in a statement and urged fans to register for their tickets.

Pat Cummins, captain of defending champions Australia, said his team will be gunning to defend their title. “Winning the World Test Championship was, and still is, a big goal for this team. It is the culmination of hard work and consistency over the two-year cycle for all teams. So hopefully we will be there again, there’s a lot of cricket still to be played between now and then, and the fans can get a chance to watch us defend the title,” he said, in a statement.