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The inaugural World Test Championship (WTC) final between India and New Zealand is currently underway at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton. However, a final that promised to be a cracker with talented players on both sides has been badly hit by rain.
A draw seems to be the most likely of all possible results despite there being a reserve day. This means that the first World Test Championship title will probably be shared between the top two sides in the ICC Test rankings.
Although the World Test Championship is thought to be a brilliant step towards promoting Test cricket, its format had flaws right from the day it was announced by the ICC. On that note, let's analyze some of the drawbacks of the WTC format.
#1 Not all teams played against each other
In an ICC event, one would expect every team to play against each other, or teams divided into groups, with the top sides moving to the next stage. However, the World Test Championship format ensured that teams had to play three home and three away series in the qualifying period.
The World Test Championship includes Tests planned under the Future Tour Programme (FTP) that are decided by the member nations, meaning that an India-Pakistan Test was not a part of the championship. The two nations have not played against each other in the longest format since 2007, and the ICC missed a golden opportunity to organize it, even though it had to be at a neutral venue. Australia and India didn't play against Sri Lanka either.
#2 Equal points for home and away Test wins
An away Test victory has always carried more weight when it comes to the ICC rankings. However, each series had 120 points up for grabs in the World Test Championship. This meant that a team could play a home series consisting of two matches and score 120 points, while the big three - Australia, India and England - played series of four to five Tests against each other and had to battle it out in Tests that held lesser points. While Australia won more games and lost a few very close contests against England and India, New Zealand won their six home Tests and achieved 360 points. The Kiwis won just one Test outside home against Sri Lanka.
#3 Altered point sytem in the middle of the World Test Championship
The ICC amended the World Test Championship points system due to the COVID-19 pandemic to decide the finalists on the basis of the percentage of points earned. The points were recalculated as a percentage of the points that were up for grabs. Before the new rule, India were leading the charts with 360 points, followed by Australia, who had 296 points. Once the new rule came into force, Australia became the table-toppers with 82.2%, while India slipped to second position with 75%. Although it didn't affect the points table drastically, the new system made the situation easier for New Zealand, who could earn a maximum of 240 points from their two remaining home series. The Kiwis did just that and finished in the top two. Indian skipper Virat Kohli was quite vocal about how unhappy he was with the new enforced rule.
#4 Continuing with the Test mace and rankings
The ICC has decided to continue with the Test rankings. Traditionally, the highest ranked team at the end of the year would be presented with the Test mace. Now, the winner of the World Test Championship will get $1.6 million and the Test mace. It is still unclear what the future holds for the Test mace, which was earlier awarded to the no.1-ranked Test team.
#5 Advantage to the top 4 teams
The format of the World Test Championship and the rule changes couldn't alter the fact that it was a rather skewed event with the top four teams - India, New Zealand, England and Australia - way ahead of the others. Things became quite tricky for India as they had to beat Australia Down Under and then win multiple Tests against England at home. On the other hand, New Zealand had smooth sailing with a couple of two-Test home series triumphs. Australia decided against traveling to South Africa due to the Covid-19 situation and put their place in the finals at stake. England, meanwhile, lost 3-1 to India away from home and were out of the race to reach the WTC final.
#6 WTC final venue changed from Lord's
The all-important World Test Championship final was initially planned to be played at Lord's, the home of cricket. However, due to the COVID-19 situation, the venue was changed to the Ageas Bowl in Southampton. Scheduling the biggest game of the inaugural ICC event in Southampton, even after being totally aware of the English weather conditions during the month of June, was perhaps the biggest flaw in the plan.
While the World Test Championship was the first of its kind, it leaves behind a lot to be addressed. A round-robin format followed by knockout matches is an ideal proposition. The ICC has planned multiple WTCs over the next 10 years and it would be interesting to see the reforms made to make it a better format with equal chances for every team.
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