Australian spinner Nathan Lyon has put up a unique proposition for the upcoming World Test Championship (WTC) final to be played as a 3-match series that will be held in different countries.
Lyon believes that a multi-match final would capture the essence of Test cricket more accurately rather than a single-match affair. The 36-year-old also showed praise for the Test tournament because of its 2-year format which sets it apart from other competitions in cricket.
“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,” Lyon said.
“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 using a Test match in one session where [in a three-match series] it may allow teams to bounce back all your 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 added.
“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,” Lyon further added.
Lyon also believes that the WTC format eliminates the “dead rubbers” with individual series and ensures that every match remains competitive as every single point is vital for a team to qualify for the finals. He recalled Australia’s Test defeat to West Indies earlier this year in Brisbane due to West Indian pacer Shamar Joseph’s incredible bowling spell.
“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 West Indies at the Gabba hurt us a fair bit,” Lyon said.
