World Test Championships gets a royal touch
Ahead of
the Test championship’s final, we speak
exclusively to the legendary makers of the trophy for the
tournament
The winner of the first ever World Test Championship (WTC) final between India and the New Zealand teams will take home the Mace, made by M/s. Thomas Lyte, the gold and silversmiths of the United Kingdom’s Royal Family. Speaking exclusively over the telephone from London, the company’s digital marketing manager Liam Malorey–Vibert shared Thomas Lyte’s joy to be making a trophy for the first ever WTC final.
“To be involved in the start of a new sporting tradition is very exciting, and at Thomas Lyte we are immensely proud to be making a trophy for the first ever WTC final. We’ve made many of the world’s most iconic sporting trophies, and the fact that this trophy is unlike any other we have made, makes it all the more special,” Liam said. Then pointing out that the company is a Royal Warrant Holder as goldsmiths and silversmiths to Her Majesty the Queen, Liam adds, “So we often work with ceremonial objects, but to combine this tradition with that of a sporting trophy has been a fantastic challenge that we have loved.”
The ICC World Test Championship Mace was originally designed in 2000 by the world renowned trophy designer Trevor Brown, who is a significant part of Thomas Lyte’s trophy design team.
Among the very many prestigious ICC cricket events, Test cricket is the most extreme and most difficult of all forms of the sport. To be the best Test side in the world over the course of a year takes an immense team effort. And the introduction of a final will be a great spectacle, and will make the Mace even more satisfying to win.
Elaborating about the Mace, Liam tells us that the new bespoke trophy was handcrafted in Thomas Lyte’s Londonbased silver workshops. According to Liam, the handle of the mace resembles a cricket stump with a laurel ribbon spiralling up the shaft. He adds that the laurel ribbon itself, a traditional symbol of celebrating achievement, was 3Dprinted from a digital 3D design and then cast in base metal and gold-plated — something he considers a great example of one of the many modern methods that Thomas Lyte’s team of master silversmiths are pioneering in the trade.
“At the head of the mace is a hand-spun gold-plated cricket ball that you can see through the pierced out oceans of the map that together emphasises the global reach of cricket and the World Test Championship,” Liam adds. “The silver countries of the world are supported by small rods to make longitude lines which create interesting reflections off the cricket ball within. Hot forging was used to bend these rods at over 700 degrees Celsius before they were soldered together to create the shape of a globe. The world is surrounded by a central belt of gold engraved with the insignia of all 12 competing test nations.”
So which side — India or New Zealand — would the trophy maker would support?
“We’ve made many of the world’s most iconic sporting trophies. With our handcrafted pieces embedded at the very heart of sporting triumph, we can’t pick sides. We’ll be excited for whoever wins and are hoping for a great final. However, there are a number of very passionate India fans in our talented team here in London, which is made up of sports fanatics and fans of many teams and sports,” says Liam rather diplomatically. And then, with a chuckle, he adds, “With a bit of British pessimism, we’re just hoping the rain stays away.
“TO BE INVOLVED IN THE START OF A NEW SPORTING TRADITION IS VERY EXCITING, AND AT THOMAS LYTE WE ARE IMMENSELY PROUD TO BE MAKING A TROPHY FOR THE FIRST EVER WTC FINAL. WE’VE MADE MANY OF THE WORLD’S MOST ICONIC SPORTING TROPHIES, AND THE FACT THAT THIS TROPHY IS UNLIKE ANY OTHER WE HAVE MADE MAKES IT ALL THE MORE SPECIAL.”
— LIAM MALOREY VIBERT,
DIGITAL MARKETING MANAGER, THOMAS LYTE