Latest Sports news and latest cricket news is that the International Cricket Council officially launched the inaugural World Test Championship (WTC) today. the Championship will be played among the top 9 test cricket teams of the world which are India, New Zealand, South Africa, England, Australia, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, West Indies and Bangladesh respectably. There will be 71 Test matches and 27 series, played over two years,and the top two teams contesting for the ICC World Test Championship Final in June 2021 and the winners will be crowned ICC World Test Champions.

Lets see what the No. 1 test batsman and Indian skipper Virat Kohli has to say. Virat Kohli – India will be fancying their chances in the WTC.

Comments Geoff Allardice, ICC General Manager – Cricket Operations: “The ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup this summer showed just how important it is for every game to count and for the world’s best teams to go head-to-head. The World Test Championship will bring relevance and context to bilateral Test cricket over the next two years, creating a pinnacle event for the five-day format, just as the World Cups for men and women do in the ODI and T20I formats.”

“Test cricket is the pinnacle of our sport,” said England’s leading test wicket-taker, James Anderson. “It is the very essence of cricket and the majority of players want to strive to play the purist form of the game. The ICC World Test Championship is another brilliant initiative for the sport, adding context and relevance to every Test series. Every Test matters, but even more so now.” Getting this latest cricket news lot off cricket scholars think that this will glorify the future of test cricket and this latest sports news will inspire the next generation cricketers to play test cricket.

“We are awaiting the ICC World Test Championship with great enthusiasm as it adds context to the longest format of the game,” said India’s skipper, Virat Kohli. “Test cricket is very challenging and coming out on top in the traditional form is always highly satisfying. The Indian team has done really well in recent years and will be fancying its chances in the championship.”

“The World Test Championship is a fantastic initiative,” said Australia Test captain Tim Paine. “We love playing Test cricket, it’s the pinnacle for us, remains hugely popular in Australia and we’re fortunate that it enjoys great support at home among players, the media and the public. To wear the baggy green is the ultimate for all Australian cricketers and if the World Test Championship helps to ensure that all countries make Tests a high priority then that has to be good news for the game in general and the continuing health of the format in particular.”

With points available for every single game, each team will play three home and three away series. Each series counts for 120 points, distributed over the number of matches in a series. For example, a two-match series will mean 60 points for each Test while a three-match series will give 40 points to each Test match. A tie will be 50% of the points available, whilst a draw will be a 3:1 points ratio.

Organised by Member Boards, the matches will be played just like any bilateral series, but with the added context of a competition and one champion team. Opponents were scheduled by the collective agreement of the competing Members, with a number of the fixtures already committed within existing Member rights agreements.

The number of matches in each series can vary between a minimum of two matches, to a maximum of five matches. The first cycle of the WTC consists of only five-day matches and will include day-night matches, subject to bilateral and mutual agreement between the opponents. Only matches identified as part of the WTC will count towards the championship.

The ICC will take the responsibilities for the competition and for the conduct of each cricket match. ICC will provide match officials and will ensure that all matches are played according to the laws of cricket game. The ICC is also responsible to deliver the ICC World Test Championship final.

Getting this latest cricket news lot off cricket scholars think that this will glorify the future of test cricket and this latest sports news will inspire the next generation cricketers to play test cricket.

Source-ICC