The World Test Championship is a two-year league and final tournament that launched in 2019 to give additional context to the longest format of cricket. The competition features nine full member teams: Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and West Indies.
The finalists play a series of home and away matches, with each match contributing points towards the overall standings. A win is worth 12 points, a draw is worth 4 points and a tie is worth 6 points. Each team’s over rate is also taken into account, with points deducted for each slow over rate.
A team must earn a minimum of four points from its first three games to qualify for the final, with a maximum of nine points from five matches. The top two teams in the overall standings will compete for the trophy.
Defending champions Australia and first-time finalists South Africa will face off in the World Test Championship final at Lord’s on Wednesday 11 June. If you are interested in attending this exciting event, click here to find out how to get tickets for the match at the Home of Cricket. Hospitality tickets are also available.
The tournament was designed to provide a more structured path for the top tier of international cricket, while still leaving plenty of room for traditional bilateral rivalries between the Big Three and the other ranked teams. But the championship is far from perfect. Its complex league system, which spans two years and passes almost entirely unnoticed, is an inefficient and cumbersome way to structure the game of test cricket, especially as compared to the more succinct and structured world cup cycle.