ANALYSING SOME OF THE DRAWBACKS OF THE WTC FORMAT

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WTC final venue changed from Lord's

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The all-important World Test Championship (WTC) final was initially planned to be played at Lord's. However, due to the COVID-19 situation, the venue was changed to the Ageas Bowl in Southampton, even after being totally aware of the English weather conditions during the month of June.

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The shift in the venue was perhaps the biggest flaw in the plan. While the WTC 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. It would be interesting to see what the future holds for WTC.

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5

Advantage to the top 4 teams

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The WTC format and the rule changes couldn't alter the fact that it was a skewed event with the top 4 teams - India, New Zealand, England and Australia - ahead of the others. It became tricky for India as they had to beat Australia away and then win multiple Tests against England at home.

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Meanwhile, 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 and put their place in the finals at stake. England, on the other hand, lost 3-1 to India away and failed to reach the finals.

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4

Continuing with the Test mace and rankings

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The ICC has decided to continue with the Test rankings as they used to in the past. As it has been in the cricket tradition for some time now, the highest ranked international team at the end of the year would be presented with the Test mace.

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In response, the Windies lost wickets at regular intervals and were 147-8 when Ian Bradshaw joined Courtney Browne in the middle. Even in their wildest dreams, West Indies would not have thought about snatching victory from such a position. Adding to their woes was bad light.

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3

Altered point system in the middle of the World Test Championship

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The ICC amended the WTC 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.

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India were 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 spot with 75%. Although it didn't affect the points table drastically, the new system made the situation easier for New Zealand.

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2

Equal points for home and away Test wins

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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 WTC. This meant that a team could play a home series consisting of two matches and then score 120 points

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The big three - Australia, India and England - played series of 4-5 Tests against each other that held lesser points. While Australia won more games and lost few against England and India, New Zealand won 6 home Tests and achieved 360 points. The Kiwis won just one away Test.

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1

Not all teams played against each other

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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 WTC format ensured that teams had to play three home and three away series in the qualifying period.

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The WTC 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 and ICC missed out on a golden chance. Also, Australia and India didn't play against Sri Lanka either.

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