The first edition of the World Test Championship is finished recently. New Zealand won the World Test Championship defeating India by eight wickets in the final. The second cycle of the World Test Championship, WTC 2, will kick off from India vs. England series from August 2021. Similar to the first cycle, nine teams are participating in the two-year-long World Test Championship. They are India, Pakistan, Australia, England, Bangladesh, South Africa, West Indies, Sri Lanka, and New Zealand. All the teams will play six test series in two years; three at home and three away.
Two Five-Match Test Series
In this cycle, there will be only two five-Test series. The Pataudi Trophy between India and England and Ashes are the only two five-match test series. Moreover, there will be only one four-Test series, and it is between India and Australia in India. Apart from this, there are seven three-Test series and seventeen two-test series. The venue and schedule for the final of WTC 2 are yet to be decided by ICC.
England Will Play Most Tests
Similar to WTC 1, England will play the most Tests in WTC 2, i.e., 21. It is followed by India (19), Australia (18), and South Africa (15). New Zealand, the current WTC champions, will play only 13 matches, similar to Sri Lanka, West Indies, and Pakistan. Bangladesh will play the least number of matches in WTC 2 and play 12 Test matches, 6 series of two Test each.
India’s Fixture For WTC 2
India will host New Zealand, Sri Lanka, and Australia in this WTC 2. For the away series, India will travel to England, South Africa, and Bangladesh. India will play 19 Test matches during these two years. Five against England, two against New Zealand, three against South Africa, three against Sri Lanka, four against Australia, and two against Bangladesh.
Point System For WTC 2
The point system in WTC 1 has many flaws and had confused many fans and cricket lovers. Previously, every series had 120 points irrespective of the number of matches in the series. To ensure the discrepancy in matches, ICC has decided to allot every match with the same number of points, irrespective of the number of Test matches in the series. In WTC 2, a team will get 12 points for winning a match. A draw will give you 4 points, while a tie will fetch 6 points for both teams. In addition, the teams will be penalized for the slow over rates, with one point docked for every over they fall behind the allotted time.
How Standings Will Be Calculated?
The standings will be determined by the percentage of points (POP) system. The POP will be calculated with the number of matches played as the base. ICC’s acting chief executive officer Geoff Allardice had expanded on the change in the points system between the two cycles of the WTC. In a chat with ESPNcricinfo, he said,
“Instead of each series being worth the same number of points, 120, irrespective of whether the series is played over two Tests or five Tests, the next cycle will see each match being worth the same number of points – a maximum of 12 per match. Teams will be ranked on the percentage of available points they won from the matches they have played. The aim was to try and simplify the points system and to allow teams to be meaningfully compared on the table at any point, though they may have played differing numbers of matches and series.”
What do you guys think about WTC 2? Who is your favorite for this cycle? Let us know in the comments below.
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