New Zealand close to the World Test Championship final
New Zealand’s recent victory over the West Indies has boosted their aspirations of reaching the final of the World Test Cricket Championship (WTC), which will be held at Lord’s in June 2021.
New Zealand was on the verge of reaching the top spot in the Test rankings, finishing just 0.086 points behind Australia.
The innings victory in Wellington on Monday brought the “Black Caps” closer to the top.
However, the situation generated some confusion, as the ICC’s prediction tool showed New Zealand at the top for several hours after the match. The ICC clarified that Australia is in first place with 116.461 ranking points, while New Zealand has 116.375.
Australia could consolidate its lead in the home series against India.
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, they will finish with 420 points from five series.
This implies that India will need five wins, or four wins and three draws, in their last eight matches (away against Australia and at home against England) to prevent New Zealand from reaching the WTC final.
Due to the pandemic, the ICC modified the classification criteria, moving from absolute points to a percentage of points disputed.
Australia currently leads the WTC table with 82.2% of the points won. If they draw 2-2 against India, they will still lead with 74.17%, but if they lose 1-2, their percentage will fall to 70. Australia will also play a three-match test series in South Africa.
If New Zealand wins both matches against Pakistan, it will end with 84 points per series played or 70% of the points played.
India, with 360 points from four series played, will have played six series or 720 points at the end of its series against Australia and England. 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 be worth 30 points, and draws will give them 10 points. Five wins or four wins and three draws will put them ahead of New Zealand.
Regarding rankings, Australia could extend its lead at number 1 or concede ground to New Zealand, depending on how the India versus Australia and New Zealand versus Pakistan series unfold.
