World Test Championship at Ageas Bowl: The major sporting final being held in Southampton
The New Zealand and India cricket teams will compete in the test match
Alex BoydContent Editor
The Ageas Bowl in Southampton (Image: Alex Davidson/Getty Images)
A first of its kind major sporting final is being held in Hampshire over the next week, in Southampton.
The eyes of the cricket world will be on Southampton throughout the next week during the World Test Championship final, which is being held at the city's Ageas Bowl sports ground.
It will be the inaugural event and is due to start on Friday (June 18) between the top two ranked international test cricket teams - New Zealand and India.
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For those unaware, test cricket is one form of the game and comprises of two teams taking part in a five-day cricket match. To win, a team must score more runs than the opposing team and bowl them out twice (picking up 10 wickets twice in two innings).
The World Test Championship got under way in August 2019 and consisted of nine teams taking part in test matches against each other for the next two years. The championship is run by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
The nine teams invited to take part were Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka and the West Indies.
After that period, the top two teams - New Zealand and India - qualified for the final, which was initially due to be held at Lord's cricket ground, known as the Home of Cricket.
However, due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, it was decided in March to switch the host venue to the Ageas Bowl in Southampton.
That is in order to guarantee a bio-secure Covid-safe bubble among the players, staff and associated officials within the test match. The Ageas Bowl is one of a handful of cricket grounds in England that has a hotel on-site, making it easier to maintain a bubble.
It means that both teams will be staying at the Southampton complex before and during the test match.
Virat Kohli, captain of the India team and the biggest sportsperson in his home country, has already been posting to his 127 million followers that he and his team are getting ready on the Hampshire coast.
His opponents, New Zealand, will now be getting ready at the Ageas Bowl having just finished playing a two-match test series against England at other grounds. New Zealand won that series with a convincing second test win.
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Under current Government rules, a limited number of spectators will be allowed into the Ageas Bowl on each day of the test match, but the ground will not be anywhere near its full capacity.
Ageas Bowl has seen plenty of international cricket in the past year due to its capabilities to hold the bio-secure bubble - England played tests, one-day internationals and T20 games there last year.
The ground is normally the home of Hampshire County Cricket Club.
With a poor weather forecast for Hampshire during the latter part of the week, both teams and any spectators will be hoping for clear skies to get the one-off World Test Championship final played.