New Zealand Advances to the World Test Cricket Championship Final
New Zealand’s recent victory over the West Indies has boosted their chances of reaching the final of the World Test Cricket Championship (WTC), which will be held in June 2021 at Lord’s.
New Zealand was a step away from reaching the top spot in the Test ranking: it is only 0.086 points behind Australia.
The victory in Wellington generated some initial confusion, as the ICC’s prediction tool showed New Zealand at the top for several hours. However, the ICC clarified that Australia maintains the first position with 116.461 rating points, while New Zealand has 116.375.
Australia could consolidate its leadership if it wins the series at home against India. For its part, New Zealand added 300 WTC points after four series in the current cycle, which ends on March 31, 2021.
If New Zealand repeats the 2-0 result against Pakistan, it will finish with 420 points from five series.
This would leave India needing five wins, or four wins and three draws, in their last eight Test matches to deny New Zealand a place in the WTC final.
Due to the pandemic, the ICC modified the classification criteria, moving from absolute points to a percentage of points disputed, that is, points per series played.
Australia currently leads the WTC table with 82.2% of the points won. Even if they draw 2-2 against India, they will still lead with 74.17%. If they lose 1-2, their percentage will drop to 70%. Australia also has a three-match Test series scheduled in South Africa.
If New Zealand wins both Tests against Pakistan, it will finish with 84 points per series played or 70% of the points played.
When India finishes its series against Australia and England, it will have played six series or 720 points. It will need to surpass 504 points to exceed New Zealand’s score of 84 points per series or 70% of the points played. Each remaining Test victory will 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.
As for the rankings, depending on how the India vs. Australia and New Zealand vs. Pakistan series unfold, Australia could extend its lead at number 1 or concede ground to New Zealand.
