The victorious team in the much-anticipated World Test Championship (WTC) final between Australia and India will take home a prize of $1.6 million, while the runners-up will receive $800,000, according to the International Cricket Council (ICC). The announcement was made on Friday, confirming the distribution of the prize money for the 2021-23 WTC cycle, which remains the same as the previous edition.
The winners’ prize money replicates the amount awarded in the previous cycle when New Zealand emerged victorious over India in the final held in Southampton in 2019-21. The ICC has allocated a total purse of $3.8 million for the current WTC cycle, which will culminate with the final at The Oval in London next month. Out of this amount, $2.4 million will be shared between the two finalists, with the remaining funds distributed based on the teams’ standings on the WTC table.
South Africa, finishing in third place, will receive $450,000, while England, securing the fourth spot, will be awarded $350,000. Sri Lanka, occupying fifth place, will earn $200,000. The teams ranked sixth to ninth, namely New Zealand, Pakistan, West Indies, and Bangladesh, will each receive $100,000.
The highly-anticipated WTC final is scheduled to take place from June 7 to 11, with June 12 assigned as a reserve day. Australia, having finished as the table-toppers by winning 66.67% of their available points, will face off against India, who secured the second position with 58.80% points. The two teams also locked horns in a four-match series earlier this year, with India triumphing 2-1.
In a separate development, India recently surpassed Australia to reclaim the No. 1 spot in the ICC Test rankings. Notably, the rankings take into account a specific period and assign different weights to completed series based on their timing. In this case, the rankings considered all series completed since May 2020, with series concluded before May 2022 weighted at 50%, and those held after May 2022 weighted at 100%.