New Zealand close to the World Test Championship final
The recent victory of New Zealand over the West Indies gives them a great opportunity to reach the final of the World Test Championship (WTC), which will be played in June 2021 at Lord’s.
New Zealand was a step away from reaching the top spot in the Test rankings, finishing just 0.086 points behind Australia, after their victory in Wellington.
The situation generated some confusion, as the ICC’s prediction tool showed New Zealand at the top for several hours after the match. However, the ICC clarified in a tweet that Australia holds the first place with 116.461 ranking points, while New Zealand has 116.375.
Australia could cement its lead if it wins the home series against India. For its part, the two victories over the West Indies gave New Zealand 300 WTC points from four series in the current cycle, which ends on March 31, 2021. If they repeat the 2-0 result against Pakistan later on, they will finish with 420 points from five series.
This would leave India needing five wins, or four wins and three draws, from their last eight Test matches (away against Australia and at home against England) to deny New Zealand a place in the WTC final to be played at Lord’s.
Due to the pandemic, the ICC had to change the absolute points classification criteria to a percentage of points played, i.e., points per series played, as some series could not be played.
Australia currently leads the WTC table, with 82.2% of the points won. If they manage a 2-2 draw against India, they will still lead the table with a percentage of 74.17, but if they lose 1-2, their percentage will fall to 70. Australia also has a three-match Test series scheduled in South Africa.
If New Zealand wins both matches against Pakistan, they will finish with 84 points per series played or 70% of the points disputed.
When India finishes its series against Australia and England, it will have played six series or 720 points. They will need to surpass 504 points to exceed New Zealand’s score of 84 points per series or 70% of the points played. Each of their remaining Test victories will now be worth 30 points, and draws will give them 10 points. Five victories or four victories and three draws will leave them ahead of New Zealand.
Regarding the rankings, depending on how the India vs. Australia series and the New Zealand vs. Pakistan series go, Australia could increase its lead at number 1 or concede ground to New Zealand.
