World Test Championship
ICC Adds to its Repertoire the World Test Championship
The World Test Championship is a league-oriented test match competition that is hosted and operated by the ICC. It began its official functioning on 1st August 2019. The World Test Championship answers their question of hosting one premier tournament for each of the three formats of the game. The number of teams participating in the test championship is nine in number, and these nine teams are the highest-ranked teams in the ICC test rankings. The first test that fell under the purview of the test championship was the 2019 Ashes tournament.
World Test Championship History
Cancelled 2013 Tournament
- The idea of a test championship was touted from time to time, and it was only in 2013 that Martin Crowe proposed for a World Test Championship when the ICC met the MCC.
- The origin of the Test World Cup started way back in 2010 when Haroon Logart wanted to do something along the same lines so that people who were moving away from this format started investing themselves again into the Test World Cup.
- Again in 2010, the executives of the organization met at Dubai, where ICC spokesperson Colin Gibson wanted the Test Championship to be held in England with the final at Lords.
- The format of the World Test Championship was also laid bare, which reported that the tournament would span over four years with a league stage where all nine teams would play for the Test Championship final.
- After the league, the top four teams would play in the playoffs for the test championship, which would end at a Test World Cup final.
- However, it was decided in 2011 that the test championship was to be cancelled in 2013, owing to the financial problems of the board in that year, and the hosts were given the responsibility of conducting the 2013 Champions Trophy.
Cancelled 2017 Tournament
- At the 2012 meeting, it was decided that after the champions trophy in 2013, the playoffs for the first-ever Test World cup would be played in 2017.
- Since the ICC had mandated that there would only be one trophy for each format, the Champions Trophy was made obsolete because of the existing cricket world cup.
- The Test World Cup final would be played in the limitless test format entailing that no team could play for a draw.
- However, the World Test Championship final was cancelled once again in January 2014, and the champions trophy was brought back in 2017 once again, with the Test World Cup final to be scheduled in 2019
2019-2021 Tournament
The inaugural World Test Championship final finally took place in 2019, with the 2019 Ashes series on the line. New Zealand became the very first team to qualify for the World Test Championship final, with India right behind them.
The top nine test teams in the Test World Cup final would play each other for a test championship final before the top two teams would meet each other at the WTC final venue for the world test championship final.
World Test Championship Teams
The teams vying for a spot at the World Test Championship final are as follows:
These highest-ranked nine teams in the test rankings will directly compete in the Test Championship, but teams like Ireland, Zimbabwe and Afghanistan won't be a direct part of the world test championship schedule. They will play an ICC Future tours program with each other and the members of the Test Championship. The results of these matches will have no effect on who qualifies for the WTC final.
WTC Schedule
| Teams of the World Test Championship | Total Matches of World Test Championship Schedule | Home Matches of the Test Championship | Away Matches of the Test Championship |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | 19 | 9 | 10 |
| Bangladesh | 12 | 6 | 6 |
| England | 21 | 11 | 10 |
| India | 17 | 9 | 8 |
| New Zealand | 13 | 6 | 7 |
| Pakistan | 13 | 6 | 7 |
| South Africa | 16 | 9 | 7 |
| Sri Lanka | 12 | 6 | 6 |
| West Indies | 13 | 6 | 7 |
Strength of Opponents
The Test Championship schedule was made in such a manner that all 9 teams won't play each other. Instead of being a round robin system, the world test championship ensured that each team played six of the eight teams on the World Test Championship schedule.
Team Performances in WTC
| Position | Teams of WTC | Played in WTC cricket | Won in the Test World Club | Loss in the World Test Championship Schedule | Draw | Tied in the World Test Championship Schedule | Points in the WTC Final Schedule | PCT in the WTC Final Schedule | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | India | 17 | 12 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 520 | 72.2% | |
| 2 | New Zealand | 11 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 420 | 70.0% | |
| 3 | Australia | 14 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 332 | 69.2% | |
| 4 | England | 21 | 11 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 442 | 61.4% | |
| 5 | Pakistan | 12 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 286 | 43.3% | |
| 6 | West Indies | 11 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 200 | 33.3% | |
| 7 | South Africa | 11 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 144 | 30.0% | |
| 8 | Sri Lanka | 12 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 200 | 27.8% | |
| 9 | Bangladesh | 7 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 20 | 0.56% |
The world test championship has been an extensive competition spread out over the best part of two years. It has ceremoniously accrued some flattering statistics that have proven to be instrumental in the WTC final schedule. With so many modern day greats plying their trade at the same time for a spot in the test championship final date, it has turned out to be a momentous tournament.
World Test Championship Most Runs
| Batsman of the WTC | Matches | Innings | NO | Most Runs | Average | HS | 100s | 50s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M. Labuschagne | 13 | 23 | 0 | 1675 | 72.82 | 215 | 5 | 9 |
| Joe Root | 20 | 37 | 2 | 1660 | 47.43 | 228 | 3 | 8 |
| Steve Smith | 13 | 22 | 1 | 1341 | 63.85 | 211 | 4 | 7 |
| Ben Stokes | 17 | 32 | 3 | 1334 | 46.00 | 176 | 4 | 6 |
| Ajinkya Rahane | 17 | 28 | 3 | 1095 | 43.80 | 115 | 3 | 6 |
World test championship most runs were score by these batsmen, who, with their talismanic batting performances, have ushered their teams towards their rise in the world championship cricket.
Most Wickets in the World Test Championship
| Bowler | Matches | Innings | Wickets | Runs | Overs | BBI | BBM | Average | 5WI | 10WM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P.Cummins | 14 | 28 | 70 | 1472 | 555.3 | 5/28 | 7/69 | 21.02 | 1 | 0 |
| S. Broad | 16 | 31 | 69 | 1386 | 499.3 | 6/31 | 10/67 | 20.08 | 2 | 1 |
| R. Ashwin | 13 | 24 | 67 | 1399 | 524.4 | 7/145 | 9/207 | 20.88 | 4 | 0 |
| N. Lyon | 14 | 27 | 56 | 1757 | 630.5 | 6/49 | 10/118 | 31.37 | 4 | 1 |
| T. Southee | 10 | 20 | 51 | 1054 | 390.3 | 5/32 | 9/110 | 20.66 | 3 | 0 |
Where batsmen failed, bowlers did their job with the ball in their hand for their respective teams, which guided the viewers to see some inspired bowling in the Cricket Test Championship.
Highest Individual Scores in WTC
Some batsmen were able to overcome odds and even bordered on mocking their opposition with some nonchalance yet hardworking innings and paved the way for their teams to one step closer to the WTC final venue.
| Batsmen | Most Runs in an Innings | Balls | 4s | 6s | Opposition | Ground | WTC Dates |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D. Warner | 335 | 418 | 39 | 1 | Pakistan | Adelaide | 29.11.19 |
| Zak Crawley | 267 | 393 | 34 | 1 | Pakistan | Southampton | 21.9.20 |
| Virat Kohli | 254 | 336 | 33 | 2 | South Africa | Pune | 10.10.19 |
| Kane Williamson | 251 | 412 | 34 | 2 | West Indies | Hamilton | 3.12.20 |
| D. Karunaratne | 244 | 437 | 26 | 0 | Bangladesh | Pallekele | 21.4.21 |
Here are the Best Bowling Figures in an Innings of the Test Championship Final
| Bowler | Wickets | Runs | Overs | Maidens | Economy | Oppositions | Ground | WTC Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| L. Embuldeniya | 7 | 137 | 42 | 6 | 3.26 | England | Galle | 25.1.21 |
| R. Ashwin | 7 | 145 | 46.2 | 11 | 3.12 | South Africa | Vizag | 2.10.19 |
| J. Bumrah | 6 | 27 | 12.1 | 3 | 2.21 | West Indies | Sabina Park | 30.8.2019 |
| S. Broad | 6 | 31 | 14.0 | 4 | 2.21 | West Indies | Old Trafford | 24.7.20 |
| Axar Patel | 6 | 38 | 21.4 | 6 | 1.8 | England | Ahmedabad | 24.2.21 |
These bowlers, lured by the prospect of playing at the WTC final venue, made sure that with their bowling figures, they flabbergasted batsmen in their team's quest to be at the top of the world test championship schedule.
Best Bowling figures in a Match for Test Championship
| Bowlers | Wickets | Runs | Overs | Maidens | Oppositions | WTC Venue | WTC Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A. Patel | 11 | 70 | 36.4 | 9 | England | Ahmedabad | 25.02.2021 |
| K. Jamieson | 11 | 117 | 41 | 14 | Pakistan | Christchurch | 3.01. 2021 |
| P. Jayawickrama | 11 | 178 | 64 | 17 | Bangladesh | Kandy | 29.04.2021 |
| S. Broad | 10 | 67 | 22.1 | 5 | West Indies | Old Trafford | 24.7.2020 |
| Hasan Ali | 10 | 114 | 31.4 | 4 | South Africa | Rawalpindi | 4.02.2021 |
Often all that was required of the bowlers to veer their direction towards the World Test Championship final date was one single match, and these bowlers showed incredible discipline when it came to maintaining their line and lengths. Such dedication helped their teams cause for a spot in the Test Championship final date and propelled them towards the top of the world test championship schedule.
Best Batting Averages for World Test Championship
| Batsmens | Matches | Innings | Runs | Average | Highest | 50s | 100s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labuschagne | 13 | 23 | 1675 | 72.82 | 215 | 5 | 9 |
| D. de Silva | 8 | 12 | 610 | 67.77 | 166 | 3 | 2 |
| Babar Azam | 10 | 17 | 932 | 66.57 | 143 | 4 | 5 |
| Rohit Sharma | 11 | 17 | 1030 | 64.38 | 212 | 4 | 2 |
| Steve Smith | 13 | 22 | 1341 | 63.85 | 211 | 4 | 6 |
These batsmen mentioned below proved to a rudder for their teams in their batting order. They played responsibly when asked but didn't relinquish their style to lead their teams to ginormous scores, which was a step forward for their pursuit of the top spot of the WTC final schedule.
Best Bowling Averages for World Test Championship
| Bowler | Matches | Wickets | Runs | Balls | Average | BBI | BBM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| K. Jamieson | 6 | 36 | 478 | 1202 | 13.27 | 6/48 | 11/117 |
| Ishant Sharma | 11 | 36 | 625 | 1314 | 17.36 | 5/22 | 9/78 |
| J. Anderson | 12 | 39 | 761 | 1991 | 19.51 | 6/40 | 7/63 |
| M. Shami | 10 | 36 | 712 | 1437 | 19.77 | 5/35 | 7/58 |
| S. Broad | 17 | 69 | 1386 | 2997 | 20.08 | 6/31 | 10/67 |
The bowlers steamed in hour after hour at the Test World Cup to vanguard their teams towards the crescendo of the Test Championship.
Team Statistics with Highest Team Totals
| Team | Score | Overs | Run Rate | Innings | Oppositions | Venue | WTC Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Zealand | 659/6d | 158.5 | 4.14 | 2 | Pakistan | Christchurch | 3.1.2021 |
| Sri Lanka | 648/8d | 179 | 3.62 | 2 | Bangladesh | Pallekele | 21.4.2021 |
| South Africa | 621 | 142.1 | 4.36 | 2 | Sri Lanka | Centurion | 26.12.2020 |
| India | 601/5d | 156.3 | 3.84 | 1 | South Africa | Pune | 10.10.2019 |
| Australia | 589/3d | 127.0 | 4.63 | 1 | Pakistan | Adelaide | 29.11.2019 |
WTC FAQs
- Who will win WTC 2021?
According to the final standings of the World Test Championship schedule, both India and New Zealand are strong contenders to win the Cricket Test Championship. However, with India at the top, the odds are against New Zealand to topple them.
- Who will play WTC final?
Since India and New Zealand are the table toppers, they will play in the WTC final venue of Rose Bowl at Southampton for the trophy of the World Test Championship final. The Test Championship final date is 18th June 2021.
- Which venue will host the world test championship?
India and New Zealand are supposed to play the game of the WTC final schedule at the Rose Bowl, which has been decided as the WTC final venue. The game is scheduled to take place in the month of June 2021.
- Can India make it to the test championship final?
India is already on the top of the world test championship, and so they will obviously make it to the WTC final, where they will compete with New Zealand.
- Who is No 1 test team?
According to the ICC and test world cup rankings, India is the highest-ranked test team in the test championship schedule, followed by New Zealand.
- How does NZ qualify for the world test championship?
New Zealand falls under the purview of the top nine test playing nations under the ICC criteria; hence they were able to qualify for WTC cricket.
- How WTC points are calculated?
The teams playing the WTC final schedule play each other in a series of matches. In a 5 match series, the winning team gets 24 points, and in a two-match series, one win gets 60 points.
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