What Is the World Test Championship?

What Is the World Test Championship?

After years of planning and several false starts, the first World Test Championship is finally set to kick off in 2021 with a final at Lord’s. The competition aims to give greater context to each Test series by making every match count and removing dead rubbers.

This WTC 2025-27 that the winners of a five-Test series, for instance, will receive more points than a two-Test series winner. Ultimately, this will mean that series between richer countries like Australia and India will be high quality and exciting but also more difficult to win. It will also help to level the playing field between smaller, less affluent countries and these bigger nations.

The first tournament will run for around two years with the top teams qualifying for the final in June 2022. The final will be played at the “home of cricket” in England, for a number of reasons including good infrastructure, strong crowds and a time zone that aligns with prime viewing hours in India.

When the WTC was launched, some commentators were worried that it would be too easy for richer nations to win a Test series. Some suggested introducing divisions for each of the six ICC full members with teams being relegated and promoted each year, but this was never adopted and a simpler system has been devised instead. A total of 120 points will be available to each team and they will earn them according to their performance in each series – a win is worth 12 points, a tie is worth four points, and a loss is worth zero points.