The 2027 World Test Championship final will be hosted at the Oval from June 9 to 13, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said on Thursday. It will be the second time that the marquee Test match will be played at the venue, with the Oval having played host to the final in 2023. Australia had won the title that year, beating India by 209 runs. South Africa are the defending champions, beating Australia in the last WTC Final in 2027 and thus ending their long wait for an ICC trophy.
The decision comes just over a month after the Lord’s pitch for the first Test between England and New Zealand was rated ‘unsatisfactory’ by the ICC. The iconic cricket ground was earlier expected to host the 2027 Final, as it did in 2025. Match referee Andy Pycroft had said that there was “excessive seam movement throughout the Test and the ball also kept extremely low on several occasions”. “The bounce was variable throughout as 16 wickets fell on the first day and 17 on the second. There was simply an over-balance in favour of ball against bat caused by the pitch,” Pycroft further said.