Reserve day available for World Test Championship final

India and New Zealand will be crowned joint winners of the inaugural World Test Championship (WTC) should next month's final end in a draw or a tie.

The International Cricket Council (ICC), who also confirmed Dukes balls will be used for the final in Southampton from June 18, said there would be a reserve day factored in to ensure five full days of play.

The reserve day would only be used if lost playing time could not be made up each day.

The ICC have discontinued the use of the controversial boundary countback rule, which saw New Zealand lose the 2019 World Cup to England after the final ended in a tie even after a Super Over.

"The playing conditions confirm that a draw or a tie will see both teams crowned as joint winners," the game's governing body said in a statement on Friday.

"There will be no additional day's play if a positive result is not achieved after five full days of play and the match will be declared a draw in such a scenario.”

Meanwhile, England's cricket board say they are going ahead with their summer schedule and have not been asked to bring forward a five-Test series against India to make room for the remainder of the Indian Premier League season.

This year's IPL, which featured a dozen English cricketers, was suspended indefinitely earlier this month after several personnel, including players, tested positive for COVID-19.

The Indian cricket board (BCCI) is looking to stage the remaining 31 matches in the United Arab Emirates soon after Virat Kohli's men finish the series in England on September 14 and before the start of the Twenty20 World Cup in mid-October.

England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) managing director Ashley Giles said that, contrary to media reports, they had not received a request from the BCCI to bring forward the start of the Test series by a week to create a bigger window for the IPL.

"As far as we're concerned and what we're prepared for, the matches will be where they are," Giles said on Thursday.

"I'm not surprised there's all sorts of speculation. Everyone wants to get their cricket in. But we've not received anything official and we're cracking on."

England are scheduled to tour Bangladesh and Pakistan soon after the home series against India.

And with the Twenty20 World Cup and the Ashes series against Australia looming later this year, Giles effectively ruled out any English participation in the IPL this year.

"We are going to have to give some of these guys a break at some point. But the intention of giving guys a break for, say, Bangladesh, wouldn't be for them to go and play cricket elsewhere," he said.

"We have to manage our schedule now, so we get our guys arriving in the best shape possible for the T20 World Cup and the Ashes."