Test Cricket is finally turning a corner. Learning from the ODI World Cup & T20 tournaments all over the world, ICC has finally setup the World Test Championships starting from the Ashes series of 2019.

The World Test Championship will be played over a 2 year period from 2019–2021. The origins and format are best explained in this video below:

Here are some of the shortcomings of the World Test Championship:

Number of matches @ Home and Away are different For instance - England & Australia play more tests @ home and may get an advantage Qualification level for the 3 teams missing out - Ireland, Afghanistan & Zimbabwe No path towards qualifying for the top 9 teams are there for Ireland, Afghanistan and Zimbabwe If Test cricket is to be expanded then a Qualifier for Tests need to be put into place Reverance to BCCI and IPL No WTC matches in April or May during IPL This is a key time for West Indies and also for England’s early summer matches Points Distribution System Some teams tend to play 2 test match series’ against more weaker opponents India plays 2 test series’ vs BDesh, NZ and WI —> likely to win enabling them to get easier points SL play 5 of their 6 test match series are 2 test match series A 2-0 is way easier than a 5-0 and both of them get the same points Not fair for teams who play longer test match series’ Strength of opponents SL does not play Aus or India NZ does not play Eng or SA Since WTC is a 2 year interval and not 4 year interval, each team can only play 6 series’ Playing at home against the tougher opponents can make it an uneven comparison Instead WTC could be a 4 year length where each team plays the other home and away once (or chose a group system) No series win points Strategies for drawing tests in order to win series’ No incentive for winning series

World Test Championship Podcast