Tim Paine and co. to miss out on WTC 2021 final after Australia postpone South Africa tour

In a major move, Tim Paine and co.'s proposed tour to South Africa will not take place any time soon with Cricket Australia (CA) postponing the tour on Tuesday. The South Africa vs Australia 2021 three-Test series still required an official go-ahead from both CA and Cricket South Africa (CSA), despite Australia announcing their squad for the tour. With the tour postponed, Australia will not be making it to the ICC World Test Championship final, almost guaranteeing their Trans-Tasman rivals a spot for the game at Lord's. 

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South Africa vs Australia 2021: Tim Paine and co. set to miss out on Test Championship final

In an official statement released by Cricket Australia, the governing body confirmed that their three-Test tour to South Africa had been postponed. The statement mentioned that travelling from Australia to South Africa in the current situation was an unacceptable level of health and safety risk to their players, support staff and the community. South Africa has seen a rise of COVID-19 cases, including a second wave and the emergence of a new strain of the virus. 

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The statement also acknowledged the significant amount of work by CSA in planning for the tour and revealed that the Cricket Australia were prepared to take on additional cost and effort to make the series happen. The release also mentioned that the board was extremely disappointed to have arrived at the decision, especially given the importance of continuing international cricket at this time and their valued relationship with CSA. The cancellation of the series also meant that Australia's hope for making the ICC World Test Championship final ended.

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Australia are currently third in the ICC Test championship table with a 69.2% percentage points. The ICC had tweaked the scoring system after the international calendar was disrupted due to the ongoing pandemic. New Zealand are second on the points table 70.0%, having claimed 420 points from a possible 600.

With Australia's tour cancelled, the BlackCaps are almost certain to make the final, along with the winner of the India vs England series. The Men in Blue went top after their series Down Under and will need to win the four-match home series against England by at least a two-match margin. Meanwhile, England's best chance of reaching the final is to win the four-match series against India by a 3-0 or 4-0 margin. 

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(Image Courtesy: ICC Twitter)