The 2023-25 World Test Championship (WTC) ended with Australia defeating India in a thrilling final. It was the first time the event had been held, a move designed to increase the profile and importance of Test cricket in an era increasingly dominated by franchise games.
The WTC’s league structure is based on a points percentage system. Teams earn 12 points for a win, six for a tie and zero for a loss. They lose points if they miss out on the required minimum number of matches, known as a ‘short series’. This means that richer countries, such as England, Australia and India, often play five-Test series that are high quality, profitable, but also difficult to win, whilst smaller nations play two-Test series that can be more easily won.
As a result, the system can reward success against weaker opposition but penalise it against stronger sides. For example, Wisden’s Lawrence Booth has complained that South Africa qualified for this year’s final by beating “pretty much nobody” while England sent a C team to New Zealand and kept its best players at home to compete in the domestic T20 competition, which they have won four times in a row.
The ICC should make changes to the WTC, including doubling the two-year qualifying cycle and ensuring that all top nine teams play each other over series lasting more than three Tests. It should also address the imbalance in how points are awarded for Test wins and losses, removing the option to earn more by playing shorter series and increasing the penalty for missing out on required short series matches.