New Zealand’s recent victory over the West Indies has strengthened their chances of reaching the final of the World Test Championship (WTC), which will be played in June 2021 at Lord’s.
New Zealand was on the verge of reaching the top spot in the Test rankings, finishing just 0.086 points behind Australia, after their victory in Wellington.However, the news was accompanied by some uncertainty. For several hours after the match, the ICC’s predictive tool placed New Zealand at the top of the table, generating confusion in the cricket community. This error was later corrected, and the ICC clarified in a tweet that Australia holds first place with 116.461 ranking points, while New Zealand has 116.375.
Australia could consolidate its lead if it wins the home series against India, but the two victories over the West Indies brought New Zealand to 300 points of the WTC in four series of 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 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.In a world without a pandemic, New Zealand would also have had to add points in a series in Bangladesh, but because some series could not be played, the ICC had to change the criteria for classification from absolute points to a percentage of points 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 continue to 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 series of three Test matches scheduled in South Africa.If New Zealand wins its two Test matches 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 of its remaining Test victories will now be worth 30 points, and draws will give them 10 points.Five wins or four wins 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 unfold, Australia could increase its lead at number 1 or concede ground to New Zealand.
