The World Test Championship has been a success so far, but there is scope for improvement.
The World Test Championship has played its part in keeping Test cricket relevant even for the casual neutral fan. Ahead of the 2021-2023 final, for example, Indian fans had closely followed Sri Lanka’s tour of New Zealand – for the hosts had a chance of displacing India at the second spot on the points table.
However, the tournament has its flaws, and has accordingly drawn criticism. Let us start with the most basic complaints. One, no one really likes the two-match Test series. Two, the teams do not play an equal number of matches. And finally, not every team plays every other.
Teams playing an unequal number of matches in a league is not new. It used to be the norm in the County Championship until the Second World War. Until 1955/56, Western Australia played every opposition once while the other teams played every other team twice in the Sheffield Shield. And so on. Despite that, however, the system seems to confuse people – including Ben Stokes, no less.
The choice of different opponents for every team in every cycle has, however, raised a few eyebrows. Some questioned South Africa’s easy schedule during the league stage of the 2023-2025 cycle (which they eventually won).
These questions will not only invariably return but also increase in number as the WTC is set to expand to 12 teams. While not confirmed yet, every team will probably still play six oppositions.
Of course, there is also the other matter of the length of the Test series.
A compromise that may help
The WTC points system (12 for a win, four for a draw) discourages teams, especially the hosts, from playing for draws. That has, in turn, led to shorter Tests.
In the history of the WTC, only 29 decided Test matches have lasted longer than 360 overs (in other words, four full days of cricket). That is fewer than five a year. If Tests are reduced to four days, undoubtedly teams will speed up declarations in order to force results inside the stipulated time.
Three four-day Tests (there may be some at the same venue with reduced gap) do not take much longer than two five-day Tests. They will serve two purposes. One, two-match Test series will go. And two, every team will play an equal number of Tests.
Marquee series need to be curtailed
The Big Three play five Tests against each other – already two more than the uniform three-match Test series we are proposing. The idea is to make Test cricket popular, which it already is in these countries. Surely the authorities will not want to reduce the number of games?
They do not need to. Teams can play series of any duration, but not all Tests need to be part of the WTC. Ahead of, say, the Ashes, the two boards can decide which three of the five they want to be part of the WTC.
All this will, under the current rules, help every team to play 18 WTC Tests per cycle, with the added benefit of erasing the eyesore two-match series.
Radical changes, perhaps – but probably for a fairer tournament, though one point will still remain.
Can there ever be a round-robin league?
Unless every team plays every other, some teams will still inevitably play tougher oppositions than others. The only way to address that is a round-robin league.
It is possible with a nine-team WTC: every team has to play eight oppositions (and at least 24 Tests). That makes it, on average, about one Test match a month. While a significant leap, it is not impossible.
For that to happen, the long-overdue predetermined windows for the franchise leagues need to exist. In its current form, the ICC FTP accommodates only international cricket between Full Members: For more Tests to take place, it needs to incorporate the leagues as well, with start and end dates known well in advance.
An example may make this clear. The BBL and the Super Smash can overlap, as can – with some tweak – the SA20 and the PSL. However, if synchronised properly, about three or four can separate these two windows: eight teams can play four simultaneous four-day, three-match Test series in that period. That is one-ninth of the two-year WTC league, done and dusted in a month. A year later, the same window can account for another one-ninth.
Of course, if the WTC indeed expands to 12 teams, it is virtually impossible for a team to cram in 11 oppositions (and at least 33 Tests, given the expansion plans) in two years. In that case, the WTC has to become a three-year cycle.
The elephant in the room
A round robin league raises an obvious question: will India and Pakistan play a Test series?
There is no reason for them not to: various Indian and Pakistani teams keep playing each other at numerous contests organised by the ICC or the ACC.
Since the 2025 Champions Trophy, there has been only an additional condition: they clash only in neutral venues. That does not need to change, though: given the hype and viewership around these contests, there is unlikely to be a dearth of willing hosts.
