World Test Championship: ICC confirms revised points system for second cycle of championship

In the new points system for the second edition of World Test Championships (WTC) revealed by the International Cricket Council (ICC), all matches will be contested for the same number of points: 12 for a win, 4 in case of a draw and if the game is tied, then six points. In the first edition of the championship, each series was worth the same number of points. In the next cycle, each match (and not series) will be worth the same number of points.

ICC confirmed the standardised points system for the 2021-23 cycle of WTC, in a press release, which will begin next month, the cut-off date of which will be 31 March 2023.

In total, nine teams will play six series each, three home and three away, said ICC in a statement.

In the old system, the points were divided according to the number of matches in the series. For example — 120 points were set for a series. For teams that took part in three-match series, a win fetched 40 points, while for teams taking part in two-match series, a win fetched them 60 points. That system is now a thing of the past as every match now will carry the same number of points, irrespective of the length of the series — that is 12 for win, 4 for a draw and 6 for a tie.

Kohli and Williamson with the ICC Test championship mace. BCCI

The teams will continue to qualify on a percentage of points won basis. ICC is implementing the percentage system to standardise the imbalance in the number of matches played by teams.

In its FAQs section for WTC, ICC explains, "This system enables the relative performance of teams to be compared at any point in time. So, the cancellation of any matches or series for any reason does not directly impact the points table."

ICC's acting CEO Geoff Allardice said the changes have been made to simplify the points system while taking learnings from the disruption last year.

He was quoted on ICC's press release, “We received feedback that the previous points system needed to be simplified. The Cricket Committee took this into consideration when proposing a new, standardized points system for each match. It maintained the principle of ensuring that all matches in a WTC series count towards a team’s standing, while accommodating series varying in length between two Tests and five Tests.

“During the pandemic we had to change to ranking teams on the points table using the percentage of available points won by each team, since all series could not be completed. This helped us determine the finalists and we were able to complete the championship within the scheduled time frame. This method also allowed us to compare the relative performance of teams at any time, regardless of how many matches they had played.”

WTC 2 fixtures