England have so far treated the World Test Championship with indifference, or even outright scorn, but if they are serious about saving Test cricket, that has to change, writes Ben Gardner.
To watch South Africa beat Australia last week was to see Test cricket as it could and should be. In front of a lively, partisan but good-natured crowd, the Proteas put on a performance for the ages, rising from the mat time and again to beat their fiercest rivals and finally claim a world title. The party extended inside the ground long into the afternoon before spilling out into the surrounding pubs and parks of St. John’s Wood. But it only took one look at South Africa’s upcoming Test schedule and see a gap in the ‘home’ column until the end of next year to realise the challenges the game faces. In that small pocket of London, Test cricket thrived. Outside, it’s barely clinging on and needs every piece of good news it can get.
Ben Stokes wrote before the Ashes that he wanted to “keep Test cricket alive and at the pinnacle of the sport”, and that the way to do that was to “show players something that excites them and inspires them”. There has been little in Test cricket’s recent history to rival South Africa’s recovery from being bowled out for 138 all out in the first innings to lifting the World Test Championship mace two days later for excitement, and little more inspirational than the narratives revealed along the way, their triumph driven by their modern trio of totems, Kagiso Rabada, Temba Bavuma and Aiden Markram taking their place amongst their country’s most famous sporting figures with a set of match-winning performances.
England’s attitude to the World Test Championship, meanwhile, has oscillated between indifference and outright scorn. Stokes labelled it “utterly confusing” at the end of last year and looks more keen on reaching the top of the basically defunct Test rankings than making a meaningful assault on the actual global Test title. ECB chief executive Richard Gould has described it as “not the be-all and end-all”, given the importance of beating India and regaining the Ashes. Which might be true - and it might also be true for Australia, who deep down would probably have swapped their victories at The Oval two summers ago, losing out on the WTC but claiming a first series in England since 2001 - but there’s no need to say it.
That disregard extends onto the field. England are ambivalent about over-rates and were willing to sacrifice a Test against Sri Lanka on the altar of release points, selecting the inexperienced Josh Hull with the series already won and paying the price.
Some of England’s complaints about the World Test Championship are legitimate. The over-rate penalty system, changed midway through the 2023 Ashes at the behest of Usman Khawaja and to the advantage of his Australia side, is a farce. An in-game method would deal with slow play far better. On the other hand, a sliding scale of points on offer depending on the strength of the opponent is a baffling suggestion, given one of the chief frustrations with the WTC is its complexity. In any case, England’s ‘tougher’ schedule is of their own choosing.
Imperfect as it is, the World Test Championship has gone some way to fulfilling its brief, adding context to a previously contextless mess of bilateral series and providing moments to capture the attention of the game at large, and 2025-27 is a golden chance for England to get in on the fun. Any cycle where they don’t play India away represents a favourable schedule. Two of their away series are against Bangladesh, against whom England have lost just one Test, and South Africa, who last beat England in a home series in 2000.
At home, India aside, it’s Pakistan, who finished bottom of the last WTC cycle, and New Zealand, whose last trip to England resulted in a 3-0 whitewash. Should England beat India, come close to a clean sweep of the other two home series, pick up a couple of Tests in Australia, win in Bangladesh and South Africa, and avoid more than a handful of penalty points along the way, a place in the final will likely be their prize. The alternative is continuing to treat the competition as an inconvenience. If they do, they, and Test cricket itself, will suffer as a result.
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