This article was last updated on April 16, 2022
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On the 12th of October in Dubai, ICC’s chief executive David Richardson announced the pathway to ICC World Test Championship revealing the event brand logo.
The top four teams in the World Test Rankings on December 31st, 2016 will qualify for the three-match semi-finals to be held in 2017, provisionally scheduled in England.
Only time will tell if this championship turns out to be a hit or whether it actually happens.
Somehow it doesn’t seem to be a ‘worldly’ tournament with matches to be played only in England.
Here’s my take on how the tournament can be scheduled.
Phases
Divide this tournament into two phases.
1st Phase – To be played in India,Sri Lanka,Australia & New Zealand.
2nd Phase – To be played in England.
*Venues for the next edition may/can be changed. The above venues are taken just as a reference giving example for a test championship format 1st edition.
Groups
Ten test playing nations to participate in two Groups.
Groups may be divided on alternate rankings as on a specific date.
Like for this example, current month ICC test rankings are taken.
Current ICC Rankings (As on 20th Dec’13) :
Rank | Team | Matches | Points | Rating |
1 | South Africa | 27 | 3531 | 131 |
2 | India | 33 | 3920 | 119 |
3 | England | 38 | 4407 | 116 |
4 | Pakistan | 25 | 2538 | 102 |
5 | Australia | 33 | 3318 | 101 |
6 | West Indies | 25 | 2366 | 95 |
7 | Sri Lanka | 26 | 2295 | 88 |
8 | New Zealand | 30 | 2243 | 75 |
9 | Zimbabwe | 11 | 372 | 34 |
10 | Bangladesh | 16 | 285 | 18 |
Based on the rankings, teams to be divided into following groups :
Group A | Group B |
South Africa (1) | India (2) |
England (3) | Pakistan (4) |
Australia (5) | West Indies (6) |
Sri Lanka (7) | New Zealand (8) |
Zimbabwe (9) | Bangladesh (10) |
In a group, each team plays the other team once.
Schedule
Below is a tailor-made schedule!
Matches scheduled in UAE for both groups to mark the headquarters of ICC. Countries like Australia, West Indies, Sri Lanka which do not organize the tournament as per the schedule created below, may organize the 2nd edition thereby which the tournament can be a held globally.
*All the schedules are just for reference so as to understand the concept. Dates and venues can definitely be altered!
Phase I
Group A
Venue – South Africa, Zimbabwe, UAE
Match No. | Match | Date | Venue |
1 | Australia v England | 1st to 5th Nov | Cape Town |
2 | England v Zimbabwe | 1st to 5th Nov | Harare |
3 | South Africa v Sri Lanka | 9th to 13th Nov | Durban |
4 | Australia v Zimbabwe | 9th to 13th Nov | Harare |
5 | Sri Lanka v England | 17th to 21st Nov | Port Elizabeth |
6 | South Africa v Zimbabwe | 17th to 21st Nov | Centurion |
7 | Australia v Sri Lanka | 25th to 29th Nov | Abu Dhabi |
8 | South Africa v England | 25th to 29th Nov | Johannesburg |
9 | Sri Lanka v Zimbabwe | 3rd to 7th Dec | Harare |
10 | Australia v England | 3rd to 7th Dec | Dubai |
Group B
Venue – India, Bangladesh, UAE
Match No. | Match | Date | Venue |
1 | India v Pakistan | 3rd to 7th Nov | Mohali |
2 | West Indies v New Zealand | 3rd to 7th Nov | Bangalore |
3 | Pakistan v Bangladesh | 11th to 15th Nov | Dhaka |
4 | India v West Indies | 11th to 15th Nov | Chennai |
5 | New Zealand v Bangladesh | 19th to 23rd Nov | Dhaka |
6 | Pakistan v West Indies | 19th to 23rd Nov | Dubai |
7 | India v New Zealand | 27th to 1st Dec | Mumbai |
8 | West Indies v Bangladesh | 27th to 1st Dec | Mirpur |
9 | Pakistan v New Zealand | 5th to 9th Dec | Abu Dhabi |
10 | India v Bangladesh | 5th to 9th Dec | Kolkata |
The top two teams from each group proceed into the Semi-finals.
Phase II – (Next calendar year)
Semi – finals
Semi-final | 1st Test | 2nd Test | 3rd Test | |
Match 1 | Group A 1st v Group B 2nd | 5th to 9th June | 13th to 17th June | 23rd to 27th June |
Venue | Lords | Edgbaston | Taunton | |
Match 2 | Group A 2nd v Group B 1st | 4th to 8th June | 12th to 16th June | 23rd to 27th June |
Venue | Oval | Headingly | Trent Bridge |
World Test Championship Finals
Match | Date | Venue | |
Final | Semi-final 1 winner v Semi-final 2 winner | 1st to 6th July (6 day match) | Lords |
By this, we can have a tournament played in the best of the test cricket stadiums around the world.
Scoring System
Match points
• For an outright win after leading on the first innings: 6
• For an outright win after a tie in the first innings: 6
• For an outright win after being behind on the first innings: 6
• For a tie where both teams have completed two innings (irrespective of the first innings result): 3
• For a first innings lead (to be retained even if beaten outright): 2
• For an outright loss after leading on the first innings: 2
• For a tie on the first innings (and no outright result): 1 each
• For an outright loss after a tie in the first innings: 1
• For a loss on the first innings: 0
• For an outright loss after being behind on the first innings: 0
• Abandoned or drawn matches with no first innings result: 0
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