Australia replace India at the top of the inaugural ICC World Test Championship table after a percentage score of points scored against points contested will be used from now on in as opposed to splitting points for unplayed series due to the coronavirus pandemic. A formal announcement from the ICC is expected later this week as the governing body of the game pushes ahead with staging the World Test Championship final in June 2021 as initially planned.
The forthcoming Australia-India series will be crucial with regards to World Test Championship points and determining who contests the inaugural final at Lord’s next year. The result of each Test Match in the four match series will have a major impact on not only the fortunes of India and Australia, but it will also affect the prospects of other teams.
Additionally, it is an exciting summer of cricket across the tasman in New Zealand with plenty to play for. Victory in all four Tests against West Indies and Pakistan will give New Zealand 420 points out of 600 in the World Test Championship and a percentage score of 70%. This will almost certainly give New Zealand a place in the final. Playing a global Test final at Lord’s and the first of its kind should be a major incentive for the Black Caps as they approach the start of their Test summer at the beginning of December.
The World Test Championship was brought in to bring meaning and context to bilateral Test Cricket and to be able to stage a showpiece final for the longest format to go along with the World Cup and World Twenty20 in the shorter formats. Each team was supposed to play one series against six different countries in a 20 month time period with points given according to percentage of matches won or drawn in the series. There were a maximum of 120 points available to score in the series assuming a side won every Test Match within that series, irrespective of the length of the series.
However, only India and England are likely to complete all their six series within the 20 month time frame and therefore a percentage calculation from the points scored against points contested will be applied in order to progress with staging a final in June. Nonetheless, assuming there are no further cancellations 22.5 of the 27 series in the Test Championship would have been completed before the conclusion of March 2021. Therefore, over 80% of the 27 series would have been completed. 3.5 of the 4.5 cancelled series involve Bangladesh who happen to be the lowest ranked participant in the league.
Australia as league leaders currently could find themselves playing the final without playing a Test in Asia during the league.
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