WORLD TEST CHAMPIONSHIP

The likely finalists

New Zealand’s recent 2-0 series win over the West Indies took their tally to 300 points and propelled them to third place in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) standings ahead of England. Due to the pandemic, the ICC has decided to determine the final WTC standings from matches completed before the final, which is scheduled to be played at Lord’s in June.

The governing body has also modified the criteria for selecting the finalists from most points to the percentage of points earned from matches they’ve contested. That saw India, despite having the most number of points so far (360), dropping down to second place with 75 percent while Australia have taken the top spot at 82.22 percent (with 296 points).

At the time of writing, New Zealand are due to take on Pakistan for a two Test series at home where they have only lost five Tests in the last 10 years. Should New Zealand win 2-0, they will finish the championship cycle with 420 points at 70 percent – and fancy their chances of making it to the top two spots.

India’s remaining series are against Australia and England. Both are four Test affairs, which means the points allocation for both series would be as follows: 30 points for a win and 10 for a draw.

To deny New Zealand a place in the final, and having lost the first Test against the Aussies recently, India will need four wins and three draws out of their remaining seven Tests. That will take their points tally to 510 at

70.83 percent.

With mercurial captain Virat Kohli out on paternity leave for the remaining three

Tests down under, India will find it a daunting task to salvage a couple of draws let alone win against the high riding Aussies. However, they have a fair chance of getting full points against England at home.

In contrast, even if the current WTC table leaders Australia lose 1-2 against India, their percentage will slip to 70. The Australians are also scheduled to play a three Test series in South Africa.

England have two series left in the current cycle – i.e. the rescheduled two Test series in Sri Lanka, followed by four away Tests against India. They need a mammoth 218 points (out of 240) to take their percentage above 70.

In the absence of rested pair star all-rounder Ben Stokes and fast bowler Jofra Archer for the Sri Lanka tour, and considering India’s outstanding home record, England will find it tough to qualify for the final.

Currently fifth in the WTC table, Pakistan will host South Africa for two Tests after the New Zealand series. But even if Pakistan were to win all four Tests, they will end up with only 406 points at 61.51 percent.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka will play England in a series at home after their current tour of South Africa. They will be hosted by the West Indies for the last scheduled series of the inaugural WTC. Making it to the final seems a distant dream for Sri Lanka but mathematically, they can still qualify. If they win all the remaining six games, Sri Lanka will end up with 73.33 percent!

Although Australia are still firmly at the top thanks to the points tally they have built up, the battle for the top two spots is evenly poised.

Series that were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic haven’t been considered here, since they haven’t been rescheduled and most likely won’t take place during the current WTC cycle.