Inaugural World Test Championship : August 2019 - June 2021 - Full Schedule

[NILAYSHAH60]

The other team would then be either India or England, depending on who wins their series starting this month.

I doubt whether England would win.

 

[Sherlock Holmes]

I doubt whether England would win.

even a 2-1 outcome for the hosts, will result in india getting down i guess

 

[Na Maloom Afraad]

I doubt whether England would win.

Same. India are damn near unbeatable at home. And with them coming off the high of that Australian tour, I doubt England will even win a session.

 

[NILAYSHAH60]

Same. India are damn near unbeatable at home. And with them coming off the high of that Australian tour, I doubt England will even win a session.

I think England would win the D/N Test. Anderson with the Pink ball could prove to be too good.

 

[WubbaLubbaDubDub]

New Zealand has qualified for the finals. Australia's tour will be played after the WTC finals, so this tour is indefinitely postponed and holds no value on WTC. Now if India loses 2-1, Australia qualify for the finals, if not its India vs New Zealand in May at Lords.

What sucks is the WTC final is just 1 match final. Should have been atleast 3 matches.

 

[TomW777]

New Zealand has qualified for the finals. Australia's tour will be played after the WTC finals, so this tour is indefinitely postponed and holds no value on WTC. Now if India loses 2-1, Australia qualify for the finals, if not its India vs New Zealand in May at Lords.

What sucks is the WTC final is just 1 match final. Should have been atleast 3 matches.

As a Kiwi I hope we do face India in the final as good as they are - I think it is our best chance at winning. We have an abysmal record against Australia & I don't like our chances against England at home. In a one off test in English conditions (hopefully similar to NZ) we might be able to surprise India.

 

[CerealKiller]

If for whatever reason this gets cancelled altogether, New Zealand will qualify and Australia will be out of running for the final at Lord's.

The other team would then be either India or England, depending on who wins their series starting this month.

The Pakistan Women's team is playing in South Africa, and Sri Lanka just toured successfully. Extremely odd decision. Coincidentally, or maybe not coincidentally, CA have cancelled every single series not against England or India since the pandemic started.

 

[abhi_jacko]

As a Kiwi I hope we do face India in the final as good as they are - I think it is our best chance at winning. We have an abysmal record against Australia & I don't like our chances against England at home. In a one off test in English conditions (hopefully similar to NZ) we might be able to surprise India.

Quite agree. I would even give NZ the advantage if they face India in Lord's for a one off final Test. NZ have a killer bowling attack for those conditions and our batting would definitely be exposed - both the experienced and inexperienced guys. Bowlers might enjoy it, but NZ have a very dependable batting lineup which can persist better in tough conditions IMO

That being said, Indian fans shouldnt get too ahead of themselves. Need to beat Eng fair and square first - we might be favorites, but English team now must be fully acclimatized to the conditions here after having played in Sri Lanka as recently as last week. And their batting line up definitely stood up fine to any spin threats. Its going to be a tough series for us

 

[NILAYSHAH60]

Quite agree. I would even give NZ the advantage if they face India in Lord's for a one off final Test. NZ have a killer bowling attack for those conditions and our batting would definitely be exposed - both the experienced and inexperienced guys. Bowlers might enjoy it, but NZ have a very dependable batting lineup which can persist better in tough conditions IMO

That being said, Indian fans shouldnt get too ahead of themselves. Need to beat Eng fair and square first - we might be favorites, but English team now must be fully acclimatized to the conditions here after having played in Sri Lanka as recently as last week. And their batting line up definitely stood up fine to any spin threats. Its going to be a tough series for us

I agree. England has always been one of the toughest opponent at home for us. We might have won 4-0 last time but they gave us a tough fight match after match racking 400+ on the board. But still I am slightly skeptical about them winning the series. I guess even a 1-0 result could take India through to the Final.

 

[WubbaLubbaDubDub]

I agree. England has always been one of the toughest opponent at home for us. We might have won 4-0 last time but they gave us a tough fight match after match racking 400+ on the board. But still I am slightly skeptical about them winning the series. I guess even a 1-0 result could take India through to the Final.

1-0 win will take Australia to finals. India needs 2-0 a minimum.

 

[NILAYSHAH60]

When we talk about the contenders for the Finals aren't England a bit punished while India being severely hurted. England have won a series in South Africa & Sri Lanka. Also they haven't even lost a single series thus so why should they win 3-0, 3-1 or better to reach the Finals? Also India haven't lost a series at home yet and they have won a series Australia. Now a series loss in New Zealand in alien condition shouldn't act as a yardstick to judge their dominance.

New Zealand and Australia have gained an unfair advantage into this. New Zealand lost all their matches in Australia and barely beat Sri Lanka away from home while they played West Indies & Pakistan at home. Only India series win is worth the appreciation for the Kiwi side if we are putting emphasis on the results as per the quality of opposition. Both England and India should deserve bonus for winning in South Africa and Australia respectively.

What have Australia done apart from a draw in England? Why should they get an advantage to reach the Finals?

 

[WubbaLubbaDubDub]

When we talk about the contenders for the Finals aren't England a bit punished while India being severely hurted. England have won a series in South Africa & Sri Lanka. Also they haven't even lost a single series thus so why should they win 3-0, 3-1 or better to reach the Finals? Also India haven't lost a series at home yet and they have won a series Australia. Now a series loss in New Zealand in alien condition shouldn't act as a yardstick to judge their dominance.

New Zealand and Australia have gained an unfair advantage into this. New Zealand lost all their matches in Australia and barely beat Sri Lanka away from home while they played West Indies & Pakistan at home. Only India series win is worth the appreciation for the Kiwi side if we are putting emphasis on the results as per the quality of opposition. Both England and India should deserve bonus for winning in South Africa and Australia respectively.

What have Australia done apart from a draw in England? Why should they get an advantage to reach the Finals?

You raise all valid points and hence this WTC is in shambles. With teams not completing their quota of series, the WTC should have been extended for a year with Finals next year and not this. Also ICC really needs to go back on the drawing board and think this format through. There are a lot of lose ends. Also make the WTC a 3 or a 4 years affair and not 2 years. If they extend the period, let all the teams play each home and away with the exception of India and Pakistan who can and must play in neutral venues which can be decided by boards. If all teams play home and away with all the participating teams, thats when you can crown a world test champion. Not by playing half the teams.

Also ICC needs to set a minimum 3 test matches to be played rule. These 2 test match series makes absolutely no sense. A minimum of 3 and maximum of 5.

 

[NILAYSHAH60]

In an ideal scenario, both England and India should've made it to the Finals.

 

[WubbaLubbaDubDub]

In an ideal scenario, both England and India should've made it to the Finals.

Also another flawed thing is the final is just a match. Should be a series as well since this is test match and not limited overs. What if the match is drawn?

 

[wasteyouryouth]

I think the Championship is a good idea but very flawed, even before the pandemic. It's classic ICC.

I think teams not playing every team is a flaw. But, realistically, England, India and Australia aren't going to want to take up weeks preparing and playing against Zimbabwe, Ireland, Afghanistan and even some of the more established test nations. Certainly not when that time could be spent having an ODI series against one another. I think the last time England played Zimbabwe in a test match James Anderson was making his debut. So, they aren't in a hurry.

Also I'm not entirely sure if those three smaller nations would necessarily be able to take part from a financial perspective without the ICC stepping in. Even before the pandemic Ireland had to cancel the only test match they had scheduled because they couldn't afford to go ahead with it.

The points system and inconsistent fixtures for each series is a problem. India and Pakistan are not currently going to play each other. I think if it came to 'forcing' India into doing it then the tournament wouldn't happen. And The Ashes isn't going to reduce the number of matches to fit around the World Test Championship.

So have two or three groups, play 2 match series. The winners of each group (if it were 3 groups) could meet for for a 'festival of test cricket' and play each other a couple of times over say five or six weeks. The winner could be declared to be the team with the most spirit of cricket.