Multicultural England ideal place for final that is reviving Test appeal

At a time when Test cricket is in as much trouble as it has been globally for a long time, this showpiece Test championship final at Lord’s has been an undeniably good thing.

South Africa’s competitiveness against such seasoned tournament winners as Australia can only enrich the narrative, while crowds of more than 26,000 on Wednesday and Thursday and 28,357 on Friday in dry, warm weather is a ringing endorsement of England’s capacity as hosts to generate support for an ailing format.

The timing is perfect because the ICC has been weighing up future venues for this biennial final amid speculation that India, the game’s weightiest voice, was keen to stage the match in 2027. It is now expected that a deal will be struck for England to host the next three finals through to 2031.

Spectators in the stands offered a heartening mix of two cricket-conscious communities GETTY

What the past few days have confirmed is London’s unique qualities as a multicultural mega-city serving as home to many cricket-loving communities. Whether Australia, South Africa, India or Pakistan were playing in this game, their supporters would have turned out in large numbers.

When Bangladesh took part in the World Cup in England in 2019, the number of fans they raised astonished most onlookers, and Afghanistan and Sri Lanka have also been well backed in this country. The South African turnout for this game has been remarkable.

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Significantly, ticket prices were dropped to about £50 once it was clear India would not be playing, and it has borne rich fruit. MCC were stung last year when they maintained normal prices for the fourth day of last year’s Test against Sri Lanka ad only 9,000 turned up; the club have learnt their lesson.

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The case for keeping this game in England is therefore strong. The June-August period is one of the quieter times of the cricket calendar due to the game being played predominantly in southern-hemisphere countries. A Test championship final could not be played in India now because it is monsoon season.

By playing the game in London with a 10.30am start, India’s prime-time TV audiences can still crucially be accommodated, and it can only help if those audiences see a game that is not a T20 slog-athon being watched by near full houses. A decent contest such as this lends support to Virat Kohli’s words about Test cricket being “five levels above” the Indian Premier League.

Aiden Markram, left, celebrates his century with Temba Bavuma at Lord’s, where the World Test Championship final has drawn healthy crowds SHUTTERSTOCK EDITORIAL

No one can pretend that the World Test Championship is perfect in design or execution, but if the head of the fish looks good maybe the rest of it is not entirely rotten.

If England is to stage the next three finals, the case for the game being played in London would be strong. The first World Test Championship final in 2021 was actually held in Southampton but that was for Covid-related issues. The Oval staged the 2023 final between Australia and India.

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Any ground needs reasonable notice to host a Test but it is not inconceivable that once it was known India or Pakistan would be playing in the final that the game could be scheduled in, say, Birmingham, where South Asian communities are so strong. Whoever hosts the game must be able to attract a healthy attendance.

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What might be the consequences for English cricket? A well-attended Test match such as this in the capital is only going to make money for either MCC or Surrey, owners respectively of Lord’s and the Oval — even if MCC believe this match would have been more lucrative still had India qualified.

From 2000 to 2018, an English summer typically staged seven England Tests, but the ECB then rowed back from that as the game braced itself to accommodate the arrival of the Hundred. Six became the norm instead.

The danger is that a seventh Test cannibalises audiences that would otherwise go to domestic games, although possibly some tribal elements are only interested in following their team if they are in action. But a regular World Test Test championship final would limit the scope for England to go back to seven Tests should they want to, and means a likely continuation of the unsatisfactory arrangement of a one-off Test being played against the likes of Ireland or Zimbabwe when Australia or India tour for five Tests.

The ECB will be happy enough if the world’s best players come to the UK in the summer and discover the pleasures of a bit of cricket, a bit of tourism and a bit of golf, as the Australians managed in Scotland last week. It is these attractions that the board hopes will persuade more to come and play in the Hundred now that the salary bands are on the rise.

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