The Oval reclaims WTC final hosting rights for 2027

The ICC has confirmed that the World Test Championship final will be played at The Oval in 2027. Back to London The Oval gets the showpiece again, bringing the WTC final back to one of Test cricket’s most iconic venues. The ground has a long history of hosting big Test matches, and the ICC is leaning into that prestige for the 2027 decider. Teams will now have The Oval as the target venue for the next WTC cycle, with conditions that typically favor seam and swing early, then flatten out. The decision to shift was made by the ECB, under the terms of its agreement with the ICC, and was informed, in part, by concern over the quality of pitches at Lord's. The ground received its first demerit point from the ICC last month after producing a surface rated "unsatisfactory" for England's Test against New Zealand, and MCC has accepted they have a problem to solve. The WTC final was initially pencilled in to return to Lord's next year after the success of the 2025 edition, although this was never confirmed publicly. The MCC remains hopeful that the fixture will return to Lord's in future, and sources indicated that the 2029 final could be played there subject to the success of MCC's review of its pitches, which includes plans to relay "underperforming" strips. The WTC final returning to The Oval in 2027 is a big commercial and scheduling win for Surrey and shaped ECB’s venue planning. Big boost for Surrey Surrey went from 1 Test next summer to 2 Tests + the 5th Ashes Test at The Oval. "It's an honour to host the biggest games in cricket and it doesn't get much bigger than the ICC World Test Championship Final. The short gap between the WTC final (June 9-13) and the 2nd Ashes Test at Lord’s (June 30-July 4) made The Oval a logical choice. The ECB also felt Lord’s was ideal for the one-off England vs Bangladesh Test (May 28-June 1) because of London’s large Bangladeshi community. That match isn’t part of the 2027-29 WTC cycle. Emirates Old Trafford in Manchester was initially allocated a Test for 2027 but will no longer stage one as a result of the reshuffle, and Cricinfo has learned that Lancashire will receive a "fallow payment" as a result. In all, England will stage seven men's Test matches next summer - five Ashes Tests, the Bangladesh Test and the WTC final - with four played in London and none of them further north than Nottingham. The first three WTC finals were all staged in England: New Zealand beat India at Southampton's Utilita Bowl (then Ageas Bowl) in 2021, Australia beat India at The Oval in 2023, and South Africa beat Australia at Lord's last year. It is seen as an ideal venue by the ICC since ticket sales are strong regardless of the teams involved. Gaurav Saxena, the ICC's general manager of events and operations, said: "The 2027 WTC final will hold special significance as cricket celebrates 150 years of Test cricket… We look forward to working closely with the ECB to deliver another world-class event that celebrates the enduring legacy of Test cricket and creates lasting memories for fans around the world."