“Can't quite work out how a 5-match Ashes series can be worth the same as India playing Bangladesh for 2 Tests” - Stuart Broad

Stuart Broad questioned the WTC points system
Stuart Broad questioned the WTC points system

Stuart Broad has lent his support to the World Test Championship, calling the competition a promising concept. However, the England pacer was less impressed with the way points are dished out in the current format, claiming he can’t understand how a five-match Ashes series and a two-Test India-Bangladesh series are on the same pedestal.

The inaugural edition of the World Test Championship dished out 120 points per series, irrespective of the number of matches. Points for each win depend on the number of Tests in the series, and many have criticized the current system for being too rigid.

Stuart Broad became the latest cricketer to throw up the same question as he spoke to the Press Association about his reservations for the World Test Championship points system.

"The World Test Championship is a really good concept, I just don't think it's quite right yet. It's a first-time effort. I can't quite work out how a five-match Ashes series can be worth the same as India playing Bangladesh for two Tests,” Broad admitted.

The placement of teams in the points table had to be changed mid-way through the inaugural edition of the World Test Championship, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. With several rounds of matches postponed or canceled, the ICC decided to classify teams based on the percentage of points method rather than outright points won.

The decision attracted criticism from several quarters, and Stuart Broad believes that although the World Test Championship has added context to Test matches, the format needs further improvement.

"There's something in the idea and it has given great context to the game but there needs to be work done on how it all comes together, I think,” Broad added.

Difficult for England in the current system to make it to the World Test Championship final: Stuart Broad

England played the most Tests in the World Test Championship, with no team matching their tally of 21. India were second with 17 matches, while bottom-placed Bangladesh played just seven Tests.

But England finished fourth in the standings, and Stuart Broad believes the English calendar works to their disadvantage in the competition.

“We had an opportunity, but the amount of cricket we play as an England side in the current system makes it very difficult to get into the final,” Broad concluded.

Stuart Broad, who has 517 wickets to his name in the longest format, is likely to be part of the two-Test series against New Zealand, beginning on June 2.

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Edited by Samya Majumdar