The World Test Championship is a league competition of the test cricket format run by the ICC. It was introduced by the council, in lieu to have a tournament for each of the three format. It can be called as the Test World Cup, with fixtures spanned over two years. ICC had plans to organise it back in 2013 and 2017, but it was cancelled and the first championship finally started in 2019 and ended in June, 2021 with New Zealand being the first winners of the tournament after winning the world test championship final.
The inaugural edition of the championship saw some outstanding games. It began on 1st August 2019 with the first test of Ashes 2019. Throughout the time period, a lot of things happened, mainly the COVID-19 Pandemic, which led to a number of series getting cancelled; one was Australia against South Africa, which could have made Australia reach the finals. Each team were prescribed to play against six other teams, three at home and three away series. Finally, the final game happened on 18th June at Southampton, where India and New Zealand knocked horn against each other and it was a rain spoilt game, which led to a reserve day decider, where New Zealand won the ICC test championship title.
three teams which did not participate, despite being full members were- Afghanistan, Ireland, Zimbabwe. It is expected that no new teams will be added for the next test championship as well.
The nine teams that featured in the World Test Championship:
The ICC made a rule that- same number of points will be there for every series, despite any difference in length; as this would not be a disadvantage for the teams playing fewer tests. It was also conferred that the points will be given on basis of the match win and not series win. Therefore, whether the series is of 3, 4 or 5 matches, the number of points given for a match win would be a half, a third, a quarter, or a fifth of the total number of games. This rule will guarantee of the two best teams making it to a world test championship final.
| Result | Points Awarded |
| Test Series Win | 120 |
In the ICC World Test Championship old points table, a total of 120 points were allotted to a 5-test match series. For each win, the team got 24 points in the previous points that was used in the championship. If it was a 3-match test series, the teams would have got 40 points for a win. Initially, it was decided by the ICC that the two teams which bags maximum number of points in the 2-year cycle would progress to the final, depending on all the 9 teams playing same number of series. But the covid concerns in the Year of 2020 ruled out this possibility, and the rules needed to be changed amid growing demands by the cricket boards. Then, it was decided that the teams which collects the maximum percentage of available points will progress to the WTC Final.
From the 2021-23 Cycle, new points system will be used for evaluating the performance of the teams and finally getting into the test championship final. It has been now decided that the each test win will be allotted 12 points, irrespective of the length of the series.
| Result | Points Awarded |
| Test Match Win | 12 |
| Draw | 4 |
| Tie | 6 |
and tied match, the teams would now get 4 and 6 points respectively. For a 5-match test series, the maximum points which will be awarded is 60. But the rule of determining the position with maximum percentage of available points in the points table is kept the same in this points table as well. This measure will not affect the team’s points, if their test series has been cancelled for some reasons.
The World Championship cricket 2021 started with Australia locking horns with England in the Ashes 2019-20. This test series brought attention of the fans towards the growing significance of the longest format of the game, due to the thrilling victory of England, courtesy Ben Stokes. The five match test series ended in a draw.
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A total of 9 teams, which are full members of ICC participated in the World Test Championship 2021. This included New Zealand, India, Australia, England, West Indies, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. The other full members like Zimbabwe, Afghanistan, and Ireland did not participate in the tournament.
The ICC WTC final was played between India and New Zealand in June 2021.
The top teams after the completion of the league stage were India and New Zealand. The Indian team played 17 matches, and won 12 of them in the 6 series. While the New Zealand team secured 7 victories in total of 11 fixtures and were positioned 2nd in the points table. The Indian team qualified for the final after their test series against England, and New Zealand were the first to enter into the finals.
The New Zealand team were crowned champions of the ICC world test championship Final.
The New Zealand team won the ICC WTC final 2021 in a convincing manner. They dismissed Indian team for 217 runs. The fast bowler Kyle Jamieson was the pick bowler with 5 wickets, and Boult and Wagner picked 2 wickets each. On reply, they took the lead of 32 runs with the contribution of 49 and 54 from Kane Williamson and Devon Conway respectively.
In the 2nd innings, the Indian team were bundled out for the score of 170 runs. All the bowlers ( Southee,Boult, Jamieson, Wagner) picked up wickets. Then the team chased down the target of 139 runs with the contribution of Kane Williamsom and Ross Taylor.
If the WTC test world cup final ends in a draw or tie, the two teams playing the finals, will be crowned as joint winner of the championship. The reserve days have also been allotted for the most important match of the prestigious championship in world cricket. But it will only be used in the event of lost time, comprising of reasons due to rain, bad light, and weather conditions. The WTC Final will be declared as a draw, if the full quota overs have been bowled in the test match.
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