The wait is now over, ICC Announces Fixtures for World Test Championship 2021-23 Cycle.

The International Cricket Council has affirmed the points table for the second edition of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) as well as the bilateral series that will be important for the 2021-23 cycle initiating next month. 

Each match of the upcoming WTC will now be contested for the same number of points – 12 for a win, four for a draw, and six for a tie, moving away from the previous system where the same number of points were allocated to each series, divided across the number of matches played.

ICC Acting Chief Executive Geoff Allardice said the changes had been made to simplify the points system while taking learnings from the disruption last year: 

“We received feedback that the previous points system needed to be simplified. The Cricket Committee took this into consideration when proposing a new, standardized points system for each match. It maintained the principle of ensuring that all matches in a WTC series count towards a team’s standing while accommodating series varying in length between two Tests and five Tests.

“During the pandemic, we had to change to ranking teams on the points table using the percentage of available points won by each team since all series could not be completed. This helped us determine the finalists and we were able to complete the championship within the scheduled time frame. This method also allowed us to compare the relative performance of teams at any time, regardless of how many matches they had played.”

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WTC 2 Fixtures: As in the first edition of the championship, the nine teams will play six series each, three home and three away with the cut-off date being 31 March 2023.

The second cycle of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2021-23 starts from the upcoming five-match Test series among India and England. This series, alongside the Ashes 2021-22, booked to begin in December in Australia, is the two series containing five Tests in the WTC 2, crossing the period from August 2021 to June 2023. Further, Australia’s visit to India is the solitary four-match leg as all the remaining Test series are either the three-match leg or two-match series. 

Similar to the first cycle of WTC, the subsequent edition will see each of the nine Test squads playing upwards of six series, each with three home and three away. All the teams will be looking to be at the top of the table and win most of their matches.

England will play the maximum number of Test matches in WTC 2. The English side will partake in 21 games. India, on the other hand, will play the second most number of matches. The Virat Kohli-driven top-notch squad will play upwards of 19 red-ball fixtures. 

Bangladesh will play the least number of matches, i.e., 12. Simultaneously, West Indies and Sri Lanka will partake in 13 games each. Additionally, the debut WTC winner New Zealand will likewise play just 13 matches. 

Australia will be included in 18 red-ball fixtures, while South Africa and Pakistan will play 15 and 14 matches, individually, in WTC’s subsequent cycle of this edition. 

India skipper Virat Kohli on the declaration of fixtures

“It was incredible to have played the final of the ICC World Test Championship against New Zealand in what was a noteworthy contest. 

“Not only the final, we saw the determination of players all through the first version of the title. 

“The accompanying cricket lovers also were incredible to see, and I am certain they will all be eagerly waiting for the second edition.” 

“We will regroup with new energy for the following cycle beginning with our series against England, hoping to give our fans a lot to cheer about.