India face Australia in the final of the ICC World Test Championship 2023 at the Oval Stadium in London. This clash which begins on 7th June 2023, is expect to witness a tough fight over the next five days, as two team eye the ultimate crown in the longest format and a cool purse of $1.6 million.
With that, the winner of the World Test Championship final will get the ICC Test mace, a prize that was given to the top-ranked team in the ICC Test Rankings, but will be present now to the eventual winners of the finale.
The original Mace was design in 2000 by world-renown Thomas Lyte trophy designer, Trevor Brown.
The new bespoke trophy of 2021 has completely handcraft in Thomas Lyte’s London-based silver workshop.
Before the WTC Final, the Test Mace was hand over to the team that top the Men’s ICC Test Team ranking.
Design of ICC World Test Championship Mace
The Mace is made from sterling silver and gold plates.
The base of Mace is made from hardwood.
The long handle of the Mace looks similar to that of a stump with a silver-gilt laurel band spiralling around it as a symbol of success.
But which catches the eye is the top of the Mace which features a gold-plated cricket ball surround by a global map.
As per Kevin Baker, CEO, and founder of the luxury English trophy manufacturer Thomas Lyte, it signifies the international reach of cricket and the World Test Championship.
Inspiration behind ICC World Test Championship Mace
As per Trevor Brown :
“One of the moments that inspired the design was seeing a cricketer grab a stump as a souvenir after a particularly close match. As the stump was waved aloft it occurred to me that a Mace could stand out against a typical cup design and be something different,”.
How is ICC World Test Championship Mace different from other Trophy?
As a trophy has a body with two handles for a lid, no matter how intricate they are, they are nowhere near to a Mace.
Trevor Brown said :
“It’s not run in the mill,” says Lee Bull, master craft man. “If you look at it closely, the most complicated part is the cage at the top that surrounds the cricket ball with the map applied to it. That was done by silversmith Chloe Robertson,”.
The countries of the world are support on the longitude lines you see on a globe which produce a multitude of reflections against the golden cricket ball.
Hot forging was use to bend these rods at over 700 degrees Celsius before they were solder together to create the shape of a globe.
The world is surround by a central belt carrying the insignia of all 12 competing Test nations, with space to add others in the future.
Getting the alignments correct for the fitting of the engraving was also very crucial.
John Bate said :
“We use a special sort of cutter to get a nice contrast from the brightness of the cut so when it hits the light you get a bit of dance from the light.,”.
