What is World Test Championship: Rules, Format, points system explained

The World Cup hangover is slowly withering away and now the cricketing world awaits the new Test Championship. It will start with the commencement of the Ashes and will be in play when Sri Lanka take on New Zealand and India take on West Indies. This was introduced to bring in context to bilateral Test series, the first edition of the World Test Championship will run till June 2021 when two finalists will play for the title at Lord’s in London.

Here’s a detailed look at the Test championship - EXPLAINED.

History

This concept of Test championship is not a new one as this was previously floated too, but was then shot down. The initial plan was to scrap the 2013 Champions Trophy and start the Test Championship, but the plan was shifted to 2017. However, after the reversal even in 2017, it was finally decided to hold the championship between 2019-2021.

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Number of teams taking part

The top nine teams in the ICC Test rankings will all be a part of this Test championship. Teams include India, New Zealand, South Africa, England, Australia, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, West Indies and Bangladesh.

Also, it should be mentioned here that the evolving Afghanistan and Ireland teams will not be a part of the championship.

What will be the format?

All the nine teams will play as many as six opponents - 3 home series and three away. The number of matches in each series can vary between two to five.

The matches will take place just like a bilateral affair, but there will be a context attached to each match. As many as 71 Tests across 27 series will be played in the championship and the top two teams (with the most points) will make it to Lord’s to play the finale in June 2021. The total number of matches including the final clash will be 72.

Also, after this, the second cycle will begin after the final and will be played till April 2023.

How does the points system work?

Each series will be worth 120 points. Hence, if it is a 2-match Test series, a win will fetch 60 points, and if it is a 5-match series, a win will fetch 24 points.

A tie will be allocated half the points for a win, while a draw will be allocated one-third of the points for a win.

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What will happen if the final ends in a draw or is tied?

If that happens, the team with the most number of points at the end of the league phase will be declared the winner.

Matches played by each team

Each team will play six series, but the number of matches will differ:

England: 22

Australia: 19

India: 18

South Africa: 16

West Indies: 15

New Zealand: 14

Bangladesh: 14

Pakistan: 13

Sri Lanka: 13