ICC says announcement is imminent about the World Test Championship, the schedule of which has been disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic
'Planning still in progress' for Test Championship final
The ICC says the World Test Championship (WTC) remains on course despite the disruption caused to the qualifying process by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The pandemic has played havoc with the game's international calendar, prompting cancellation of a number of Test series and complicating the process of allocating WTC points from those matches.
Already this year, Australia's tour of Bangladesh, England's series against Sri Lanka, South Africa's tour of the West Indies and Bangladesh's campaigns against New Zealand and Sri Lanka have all been postponed.
The inaugural WTC final is due to be held at Lord's in June and, based on the original schedule, there are 14 bilateral series that are to be played before then.
"The planning is still in progress," a spokesman of the International Cricket Council (ICC) said of the WTC final, without elaborating how the point system would be reworked.
"There is likely to be more clarity in the coming days once all stakeholders are aligned. There will be an announcement on this soon."
The ICC launched the WTC last year to lend context to bilateral Test series, giving the format its standalone showpiece like the World Cup in other formats.
Originally, nine top-ranked sides were scheduled to play six series over two years with the top two making the final at Lord's.
India currently top the WTC points table, having played four series, followed by Australia who have played one fewer.
England have played four, including home series against West Indies and Pakistan in July-August, and are third.
England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chief executive Tom Harrison last week underlined the logistical challenge of hosting the WTC final.
"We are talking about a COVID environment, and when you put COVID into a negotiation like this, it changes everything," he said.
"If you are taking part in that fixture and you have potentially two neutral teams playing a world final in the UK, I'm pretty sure you'd want to know you are safe and protected when it comes to the health environment you are heading into."
This year's Twenty20 World Cup in Australia had to be postponed because of the pandemic and the restrictions it forced.