ICC World Test Championship Points Table, History, Points Distribution System, Leaders, Latest Updates

In the fast-paced world where the upcoming generation is more hitched to the shorter formats of cricket, Test cricket seems to have lost its relevance. Thus, the International Cricket Council (ICC) brought in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC). The ICC World Test Championship Points Table lists the teams according to their performance in the tournament.

The audience likes to see batsman smacks the bowler for boundaries and giant sixes which keeps them on their feet and hooked to the match. On the other hand, the traditional format, Test cricket, doesn’t provide that adrenaline rush. Nobody has the patience to sit for six hours a day and watch a five-day match which might even end with neither side winning it.

• ICC World Test Championship Points Table Distribution System
• ICC World Test Championship 2019-21 Revised System For Ranking Due To COVID-19 Hiatus
• ICC World Test Championship Points Table (Updated)
• FAQs About The ICC World Test Championship Points Table

And thus, to grab the attention and bring back the competitiveness in the extended format, International Cricket Council (ICC) has introduced the World Test Championship (WTC). The ICC World Test Championship Points Table lists the teams according to their performance in the tournament.

The ICC World Test Championship is like the world cup, which is played in T20 and 50-over format, but the difference is it is not a round-robin tournament. In WTC, each team had to play only six Test series (three away and three home) against the participating teams. Currently, nine teams are playing the inauguration ICC World Test Championship 2019-21 edition. India are the current leaders of the ICC World Test Championship Points Table.

ICC World Test Championship Points Table Distribution System:

The idea of the ICC World Test Championship was approved two decades ago in 2010 but the governing council had failed to introduce the tournament. But finally, in 2019, the WTC kick-started with the most famous Ashes series which is a five-match Test series played between India and Australia. The finale of the tournament will be played between the top two teams in the ICC World Test Championship Points Table.

ICC has laid a complex system for the distribution of the points. Each Test series played under WTC has been assigned 120 points irrespective of the number of Test matches played in a series. And, depending on the result of each match (not the series) the points will be given.

For instance, Ashes has five Test matches and 120 points would be split equally between all the matches in the series, which means points for a win will be 24 (120/5). If any match ends in a draw, the points given will be 1/3rd of points for the win. According to which, eight points for a draw in the Ashes.

The points distribution will be as follows:

Notably, a team that will be behind the required over-rate at the end of a match would have two competition points deducted for each over it was behind.

ICC World Test Championship 2019-21 Revised System For Ranking Due To COVID-19 Hiatus:

The outbreak of the coronavirus affected the whole world and the game of cricket didn’t remain untouched. All the cricket fixtures from March to June were postponed. The Test series which were under WTC 2019-21 and set to be played during that period were also postponed. Firstly, the second Test match between Pakistan and Bangladesh, scheduled in March 2020, was postponed. This also led to a massive change in the ICC World Test Championship Points Table.

Later the same month, the two-match series between Sri Lanka and England was also postponed (which is now being played in Janaury 2021).  Following this, Australia’s tour to Bangladesh and the West Indies tour to England got postponed.

In June 2020, the two-match series between Bangladesh and New Zealand and the three-match series between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh were both postponed. South Africa’s tour of the West Indies was also postponed.

But the cricket, finally, marked it’s way back in July with England hosting West Indies for the three-match Test series under the new bio-secure bubble. Following this series, they hosted Pakistan for three-match Test series.

ICC had to also make up for the lost time. Instead of postponing the finale of the ICC World Test Championship, which is set to be played in June 2021 in Lord’s, and re-organizing all the suspended series, the apex council came up with the new system of ranking the teams in the points table to get the two finalists.

In November 2020, ICC introduced a points system in the ICC World Test Championship Points Table that ranks teams on the percentage of points (PCT) instead of the overall points earned. PCT is points earned divided by points available.

The new system didn’t harm the rankings of the team much but India, who was leading the points table before the introduction of the system but was demoted to the second position.

The World Test Championship has, undoubtedly, increased the attention of viewers and teams are also striving to win each and every match instead of letting it draw.

ICC World Test Championship Points Table (Updated)

FAQs About The ICC World Test Championship Points Table:

What is the points table of world Test championship?

The ICC World Test Championship Points Table is the table in which the Test teams are listed as per their performance in the ICC World Test Championship. The top two teams will collide in the final of the tournament in July 2021 at the Lord’s Cricket Ground.

Who will win ICC Test Championship?

The winner of the ICC World Test Championship will be determined through a final that will take place between the top two teams of the ICC World Test Championship Points Table in July 2021 at Lord’s.

Who won World Cup 2019?

The England National Cricket Team won the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 in a historic final that was played at Lord’s between England and New Zealand. It was the first-ever world cup final to head into a super over and then decided by way of more boundaries scored by a team.

Is there a test cricket World Cup?

No, there is no test cricket World Cup. The ICC has introduced the ICC World Test Championship since 2019 to increase the competitiveness in Test cricket.

What is the point of Test cricket?

A point in Test cricket refers to the points earned by a team in the ICC World Test Championship Points Table after a win, loss, or draw in a Test match.

The points distribution will be as follows: