New Zealand edges closer to the World Test Championship final
The recent victory of New Zealand over the West Indies positions them favorably to reach the final of the World Test Cricket Championship (WTC), which will be held at Lord’s in June 2021. After their victory in Wellington, New Zealand is very close to the top spot in the Test Cricket rankings, just 0.086 points behind Australia.Although there was initially some confusion after the match due to an error in the ICC’s prediction tool, which showed New Zealand at the top, the official ranking confirmed Australia in first place with 116.461 points, followed by New Zealand with 116.375.
Australia could consolidate its lead if it wins the home series against India. For their part, New Zealand’s two victories against the West Indies earned them 300 WTC points, accumulated in four series during the current cycle, which ends on March 31, 2021. If New Zealand repeats the 2-0 result against Pakistan later in their season, they will accumulate 420 points in five series. This implies that India will need five wins, or four wins and three draws, in their last eight Test matches (away against Australia and at home against England) to prevent New Zealand from reaching the WTC final. Due to global circumstances, the ICC modified the classification criteria, shifting from absolute points to a percentage of points contested, i.e., points per series played.Currently, Australia leads the WTC table with 82.2% of the points won.
If New Zealand wins its two matches against Pakistan, it will finish with 84 points per series played, which is equivalent to 70% of the points played. India, with 360 points in four series, will need to surpass 504 points at the end of their series against Australia and England to overtake New Zealand. Each victory in the remaining Tests will be worth 30 points, and draws will award 10 points. As for the rankings, Australia could extend its lead in first place or concede ground to New Zealand, depending on the performance of India and New Zealand in their respective series.
