Melbourne [Australia]: After finishing third in the World Test Championship points table, Australia failed to qualify for the final. One of the reasons behind this was the fine imposed due to slow over-rate during the second Test against India at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Aussie coach Justin Langer after the match predicted that this could cost his team the WTC final.
Tim Paine's side was docked four points due to a slow over-rate for being two overs behind in the second Test against India.
-
That victory against England means India finish the league phase of the inaugural ICC World Test Championship with a fine view from the top of the table 🔝#INDvENG | #WTC21 pic.twitter.com/rXFiKPXdB7
— ICC (@ICC) March 6, 2021 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="
">That victory against England means India finish the league phase of the inaugural ICC World Test Championship with a fine view from the top of the table 🔝#INDvENG | #WTC21 pic.twitter.com/rXFiKPXdB7
— ICC (@ICC) March 6, 2021That victory against England means India finish the league phase of the inaugural ICC World Test Championship with a fine view from the top of the table 🔝#INDvENG | #WTC21 pic.twitter.com/rXFiKPXdB7
— ICC (@ICC) March 6, 2021
If Australia hasn't docked these four points, then they would have stood at the second spot in WTC standings and they would have clashed against India in the finals.
"This might be the silliest thing I've ever said, but our manager Gavin Dovey, he'd been away, he'd gone home for Christmas to be with his family. It wasn't until after the game that we realised our over rate was down. Now, that's really slack on our behalf. It was relevant at the time and it certainly became incredibly significant over the weekend," Langer said.
Also Read: WTC final will be held at Ageas Bowl, confirms Sourav Ganguly
"I remember we were in the team-room afterwards and I spoke to skipper Tim Paine and Dene Hills, our analyst, about it. I was a bit grumpy about it and I thought 'imagine if this cost us the World Test Championship'. And I mentioned to the players afterwards that two overs down could cost us the World Test Championship. And so, we have to get better at that and make sure it doesn't happen in Sydney and Brisbane," he added.
Earlier this year, Cricket Australia postponed the three-Test series against South Africa. As soon as the series was postponed, the fate of Australia reaching the final of WTC was dependent on the series result between India and England.
-
India 🤜🤛 New Zealand
— ICC (@ICC) March 6, 2021 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="
The inaugural ICC World Test Championship finalists!
The wait will be unbearable. #WTC21 | #INDvENG pic.twitter.com/X3KcNrUTJ1
">India 🤜🤛 New Zealand
— ICC (@ICC) March 6, 2021
The inaugural ICC World Test Championship finalists!
The wait will be unbearable. #WTC21 | #INDvENG pic.twitter.com/X3KcNrUTJ1India 🤜🤛 New Zealand
— ICC (@ICC) March 6, 2021
The inaugural ICC World Test Championship finalists!
The wait will be unbearable. #WTC21 | #INDvENG pic.twitter.com/X3KcNrUTJ1
"How often do you get docked points in Test cricket these days? Rarely. And we had that in our control, that's an attitudinal thing. At the time, we probably thought it's not that big a deal - the players get fined - but that cost us the World Test Championship (Final) after what had been two really good years for Australian cricket where we were ranked number one again," said Langer.
Also Read: WTC final between India and New Zealand will be played in Southampton
"It's very disappointing, but the lesson is the things that we can control, we have to control. And we can't relax for a second in Test cricket," he added.
India and New Zealand will be locking horns in the final of the WTC from June 18-22. The match was slated to be played at the Lord's Cricket Ground, but on Monday, BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla confirmed to the media that the final will now be played at the Ageas Bowl, Southampton.
