The World Test Championship is a mess. This isn’t something that can be changed. Like global climate change or the fate of rhinos, it’s simply too late to try to fix the problem and the best we can do is to mitigate its effects. That is the message from Wisden’s latest edition, which describes this week’s final at Lord’s as a “shambles masquerading as a showpiece”.
The championship was launched in 2021 as an attempt by the ICC to boost the relevance of test cricket in an era dominated by franchise cricket and Twenty20 tournaments. It involves teams playing each other in a series of three and five-match Tests over two years. The winners are declared the World Test champions and the runners-up are relegated to the second tier, which will have six teams instead of nine.
Despite this, critics say the format is not working. There are several reasons for this. One is that the competition disproportionately favours richer countries such as Australia, England and India. This is because they play the most test matches against each other. This can lead to fixture fatigue and burnout, which could reduce their performance in tests against other nations.
Other criticisms have focused on the points deductions and the exclusion of Test playing nations such as Afghanistan, Ireland and Zimbabwe. It has been suggested that including these teams in a two-tier competition with promotion and relegation would make the championship fairer. However, this proposal is currently under consideration and it will be some time before the ICC can evaluate its impact.