ICC World Test Championship (2025)
The ICC World Test Championship or the WTC is a biennial competition and is organised by the International Cricket Council.
It is played in Test format and the men's teams of ICC's full members participate in it. Cricket Addictor covers the ICC World Test Championship news in detail, providing exclusive and first-hand coverage of the competition.
The ICC launched the competition in order to have one pinnacle competition in each format. Just like the T20 World Cup and the World Cup, the WTC determines the world champion too but in the Test format.
However, the WTC league games are not considered ICC events. As a result, the broadcasting rights for those games are held by the host nations. The WTC final, however, is an ICC event.
While the idea of conducting a Test Championship has been discussed among the ICC members for years, it was not until 2017 that the ICC finally decided to launch the competition. In October 2017, the governing body of the game announced the launch of WTC.
As per the existing WTC rules and regulations, each team will play six series, three at home and three away. Each series contains at least two Tests and at most five matches. At the end of the league stage, the top two teams play the final at Lord's.
Talking about the WTC points system, a team earns 12 points for a win, 6 points for a tie, 4 points for a draw, and no points for a loss. The teams also lose WTC points if they fail to complete their overs in time. One point is deducted for each over a team fails to complete in time. The standing in the ICC World Test Championship points table is based on a percentage of total points won out of total points contested.
The first edition of the ICC WTC was held from 2019 to 2021. The inaugural WTC edition got underway with the iconic Ashes series between England and Australia. New Zealand became the first team to qualify for the final before India cut too.
In the final played at the Rose Bowl in Southampton, New Zealand beat India to become the first-ever WTC champions.
The second WTC was played from 2021 to 2023. It got underway with the 5-match Test series between England and India. In the end, India and Australia qualified for the final. In the final, India ended up on the losing side once again as Australia clinched the coveted trophy.
In the ongoing WTC 2023-25 cycle, nine teams are competing. As per the ICC World Test Championship team list, the teams are - Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka and West Indies. The WTC cycle began with the Ashes series in England.
The competition has made Test cricket more interesting. Following the meteoric rise of T20 cricket, Test cricket's popularity was declining and the WTC has managed to turn things around. At Cricket Addictor, we also cover the World Test Championship schedule, match reports, fantasy cricket tips, and every other detail related to the competition.
