Nathan Lyon wants WTC final to be a three-match series

Australia’s ace offspinner, Nathan Lyon, wants the World Test Championship (WTC) final to be a three-match series played in India, Australia and England. The finals of the last two editions were played at Southampton and The Oval, respectively, while the grand finale of the ongoing WTC cycle will be played at Lord’s in June 2025.

"One thing I would like to see is the World Test Championship Final, potentially in a three-match series. That may become a little bit better because you potentially can lose a Test match in one session where [in a three-match series] it may allow teams to bounce back and 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 told ICC.

"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 said the WTC has also eliminated dead rubbers from bilateral series. 

"Oh, yeah. I'll just say it's 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 are always points on offer now. You look at us last year losing against the West Indies at the Gabba hurt us a fair bit.

"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.”

Australia are currently placed second on the WTC 2023-25 points table, with India ranked right at the top. The two teams will be involved in a five-match Test series later this year.

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