WTC: Hopefully England can do the job for us, says Australia's coach

Australia assistant coach Andrew McDonald has said that his side would be watching India vs England 4th test with keen interest

Australia assistant coach Andrew McDonald has said that his side would be watching the fourth Test between India and England with keen interest and he added that everyone on his side is hopeful of the Three Lions defeating India.

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If England manage to defeat India in the fourth and final Test of the series, then Australia would qualify for the final of the World Test Championship (WTC). However, if India win or draw the match, then Australia would qualify for the final.

"There's a bit of self-interest there for us. We'll be hoping they can do the job there. It's going to be difficult for them, no doubt, some of the surfaces have been conducive to spin bowling and probably India's strengths in their ability to play spin as well. We wish them well. See what unfolds, it's out of our hands but we'll be watching along with interest," ESPNCricinfo quoted McDonald as saying.

"Think most people have been watching that series with some great interest in terms of the conditions and the short nature of the Tests has been very interesting to watch from afar," he added.

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Opening batsman David Warner is also hopeful of England defeating India, but he added that he would not be barracking for the visitors.

"I won't be barracking for England. From a cricket perspective, we'd like to see a draw [in the series]. It would be ideal for us to make the World Test Championship final and if that happens it's a great result for us," said Warner.

However, even if England manage to defeat India in the fourth and final Test, Australia might not qualify for the World Test Championship (WTC) final.

If England win the last Test against India, then Australia was to qualify for the WTC final. But, the International Cricket Council (ICC) is now looking to bring forward Cricket South Africa's (CSA) formal complaint against Cricket Australia (CA) should the latter qualify for the WTC final, reported Sydney Morning Herald.

Earlier this year, Australia postponed its three Tests tour of South Africa due to the Covid-19 pandemic and as a result, CSA lodged a formal complaint with the ICC, seeking financial compensation and deduction in WTC points for Australia.

As per a report in Sydney Morning Herald, if the ICC decides to deduct points from Australia then the side would be eliminated from the WTC even if England was to win the final Test against India. Cricket Australia has been given the time until the end of this week to meet the deadline set by the ICC to inform whether the matter can be resolved through good faith negotiations.

If that is not the case, then the matter would be transferred from the dispute committee of the ICC and it would be given to an independent panel and they would be deciding whether Cricket Australia was within its right to postpone the series in South Africa.