The World Test Championship is the ICC’s latest attempt to raise the profile of Test cricket in an era that has become dominated by Twenty 20 franchise tournaments. It has been a mixed success so far, with New Zealand and Australia both winning the title in the first two cycles of the tournament. However, there is still a long way to go before it can be said that the tournament is making a meaningful impact on the game.
The tournament was introduced to replace the ICC Champions Trophy and to provide a more compelling narrative for the sport’s fans. It features a two-year cycle, in which each team plays three series, each containing between five and eight matches.
This includes a series against one of the other seven teams in the competition, but excludes Afghanistan, Ireland and Zimbabwe who are full members of the ICC. Each series is played in accordance with a points system, with a win worth 12 points, a draw worth four and a loss or slow over-rate earning zero points.
The final is hosted by the winner of each of the two series, with Lord’s hosting the third time, following the Rose Bowl and Oval in previous stagings. The home of English cricket has been chosen for the event for a variety of reasons, including its excellent infrastructure and crowds, its position in the early summer in England and the winter or monsoon in most other countries, and its time zone that aligns favourably with prime time viewing hours in India.