“Talent is not just the player’s ability to strike the cricket ball. The sweetness of timing, determination, courage, discipline and temperament, all come together to make a great cricket player.”
Rahul Dravid
The test cricket has been one of the most popular and the earliest formats of the game which has been an all-time favorite for the royal cricket fans. ICC test championship can be called as the epitome of test cricket as it is the most prestigious international championship of the game. The first edition of the tournament was held in 2003 and the latest one is ongoing.
It is an international test cricket tournament comprising 12 teams and is a ranking system based on the performance of all the test matches these squads play irrespective of the venues either in their home grounds or overseas. Currently, India is the leading team with 120 points by winning the test series against the Kiwis in 2016 by 3-0.
The Australian cricket team has grabbed the ICC Test Trophy 9 times, Indians have won it five times, and the South Africans thrice. Pakistan and England teams have grabbed the championship once each. Let’s get a detailed idea of the tournament by walking through the idea behind, the history, ranking systems and ongoing tournaments, etc.
How Would You Define The ICC Test Tournament?
First of all, don’t confuse the ICC Test Championship as a standalone contest. It is a bilateral series that happens between two test teams for two years and based on the points grabbed by each team after two years the champion is determined. The basic idea of the ICC test tournament was approved by the International Cricket Council in 2010. In the year 2013 and 2017, the tournament couldn’t take place.
Want To Have A Glimpse Of Some History Of ICC test championship?
Since the rankings have been officially opened by ICC for the test championship in 2003, the Australian cricket team has been dominant over the other squads. But from 2009 many other teams like India, South Africa, Pakistan have fought to grab the top positions. But the test series has evolved immensely over these years with new rules getting added to the dashboard and terms getting refined.
What’s The Ranking Formula Of The Test Championship?
Every test series will be having a total of 120 points that wouldn’t get affected by the number of test matches in that particular series. Any squad has the opportunity to grab 720 points at most but the same will depend on how many matches would be played in that test tournament.
After every test series the two teams that are involved grab points based on an arithmetic formula. Any team receives a rating based on the points fetched by them over the past couple of years keeping the total test games played by the squad.
The leading team with maximum points receives a trophy from ICC which is transferable to another squad whenever they move up in the standings. Every year on 1st April the cricket team with the maximum points also receives a whopping cash reward of that’s kept $1 Million as of now.
How Many Test Series Every Team Is Expected To Play?
Every team that’s a part of the world test championship has to play three test series each at their home grounds and overseas where every test tournament will have at least 2 and at most 5 test matches. This means every team won’t play against each other in the two years span.
How Points Have Been Awarded To The Teams In The Championship?
1. One point is awarded to the team for each game they won
2. Half point to a team for a drawn match
3. One bonus point to the team for winning the series
4. Half bonus point each squad for the tied series
Which Teams Have Been The Leading Ones In The Rankings Till Date Based On The Whole Month Periods?
The first spot goes to Aussies as they have played for 83 months and the highest rating is 143. In the second place, there is team India with 61 months and 130 at the highest rating. South African cricket team is at the third spot with the highest rating 135 and months played as 42. England and Pakistan are at the fourth and fifth spots with the highest rating as 125 and 111 and total months played as 12 and 2 respectively.
As of now, team India is the top-most squad in the world test championship rankings for the span that started in October 2016 and is ongoing. The test series between India and the West Indies to be held in February 2021 would be the concluding one for the ongoing league.
Aren’t You Thrilled Know All About The ICC World Test Championship (2019-21)?
The opening season of the World Test Championship was officially announced by the ICC in July 2019 that kicked-off from 1st August in the same year with the first Ashes Test held at Edgbaston. Nine squads out of the 10 official members were declared as the participants of the tournament. These teams are India, Sri Lanka, Australia, England, West Indies, Bangladesh, South Africa, New Zealand, and Pakistan.
This test championship has made the long format cricket much more interesting as the experts in the business are comparing this to be somewhat like the T20 but for the test matches.
But What Was The Need For ICC World Test Championship At The First Place?
ICC was trying from quite a long time to add some more value to the test cricket and move beyond the individual test series results and ratings. The logic behind this tournament is to award a test squad with a trophy every two years with a hope to elevate the interest in the test cricket format by adding a knock-off effect to the league.
Regarding the ICC Test Championship India skipper, Virat Kohli said that: “We are awaiting the ICC World Test Championship with great enthusiasm. It adds context to the longest format of the game, the test cricket. It is highly satisfying to come on top of this traditional form of cricket, as it is immensely challenging. The Indian team has done admirably in recent years and as a result, we are hopeful of winning the championship.”
Who Takes The Call on Which All Test Tournaments Will Be Played Under The ICC Test Championship?
The competing nations only take the call regarding which all test series will be played. Although, a couple of test tournaments that were already lined-up will be played now. In these matches, every team will come in front of some higher ranking and some lower-ranking opponents.
What Are Some Of The Recent Calls Taken By the ICC For The World Test Championship?
ICC has announced in the recent past that going forward the teams will be charged points for slow over rates and two points will be deducted for every slow over from the team’s total points at the end of the match.
Is There Any Special Rule If The Final Test Match Turns To Be A Tie?
Yes, in case the final test match turns out to be a draw then both the competing squids will be declared as the winners. However, there is a specific playing condition termed as reserve day but that’s applicable only when the net playing time is messed up during five days of the final match.
How About Exploring Some Gems From The ICC world test championship Till Date?
Many legendary cricketers have made records in the test championship but Marnus Labuschagne Steven Smith David Warner from the Australian squad holds the record of scoring maximum runs in the championship for the 2019-21 ongoing league. Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon are two Aussie bowlers who are recognized for grabbing the maximum wickets for the same series.
As of now, the Australian cricket team has earned a potential spot for itself in the 2019-21 ICC Test Championship rankings by defeating the Kiwis and registering a whopping 279 runs victory. Now they have 296 points and with this, they are just a few points behind the number 1 team that’s India with 360 points. Overall, the cricket economy is anticipating that the World Test Championship will add even more value and take the test cricket to another level altogether. Every Indian cricket fan is hoping that the Indian squad remains at the top slot till the end of the league in February 2021. So we have kept our fingers crossed and looking forward to some action-packed and quality test cricket going forward in 2020.
