WTC 2017-19

The World Test Championship began with the 2019-21 cycle, but what if there had been a 2017-19 cycle as well?

When the ICC was formed with three teams in 1909, the first FTP featured a triangular Test tournament in England every four years. The 1912 edition was a damp squib, both literally and otherwise: not only was it one of the wettest summers, but Australia, weakened after a players’ revolt, and South Africa, not used to playing on turf, made the nine-Test tournament a drag. The First World War ruled out any possibility of a sequel, and the idea was shelved.

However, the success of the ODI World Cup made some cricketers discuss the idea. In 1996, Clive Lloyd called for a “formal” tournament for Test cricket, but not much came out of it. But as it became evident that T20 was going to be the most popular format, the idea of a Test championship regained momentum in the late 2000s.

The ICC even considered an immediate launch, and replacing the 2013 Champions Trophy with a World Test Championship final. It was eventually postponed until 2017. In 2012, it was decided the Champions Trophy would be scrapped, and that there would be a four-team Test tournament from 2017.

As we know, 2017 had a Champions Trophy as well, but that October, the ICC announced a World Test Championship from 2019.

What if the tournament had started in 2017? One cannot go back in time and make every team play six series – three home, three away – as per the current system, but one can always retrofit the results of Test matches that were played in that period. While not cent per cent ideal, it will be a decent measure.

The WTC has adopted two points systems till date. The 2019-21 cycle used series as the unit, assigning a maximum of 60 points to every series. Since they discarded it (and rightly so), let us apply the one used in 2021-23 and 2023-25, where a Test is the unit, and there are a maximum of 12 points available for every match.

Also read: The WTC 2023-25 points table if away wins fetched bonus points

Disclaimers

1. The 2017-19 cycle begins just after the 2017 Champions Trophy and ends before the 2019-21 WTC – in other words, it runs from South Africa’s tour of England and goes on until Bangladesh’s in New Zealand 2018-19.
2. Test matches including at least one of Zimbabwe, Afghanistan, and Ireland are not included.
3. No over-rate (or any other kind) of points penalties have been taken into account.

World Test Championship 2017-19 points table using current points system

Team M W L D Points PCT
New Zealand 11 8 1 2 104 78.79
South Africa 20 11 9 0 132 55.00
India 20 10 7 3 132 55.00
England 27 14 11 2 176 54.32
Australia 19 9 7 3 120 52.63
Sri Lanka 24 8 11 5 116 40.28
West Indies 17 6 10 1 76 37.25
Bangladesh 12 3 8 1 40 27.78
Pakistan 12 3 8 1 40 27.78

Note:

Bangladesh were originally scheduled to play three Tests in New Zealand, but the third Test had to be cancelled in the aftermath of the Christchurch terrorist attack. The Test is not included. If it is considered a draw, New Zealand will still finish at the top, but Bangladesh would be ensured the eighth place.

World Test Championship 2017-19 tie-breaker

New Zealand, who would become the inaugural WTC champions in 2021, would have been clear table-toppers in the 2017-19 cycle as well. However, as is evident, there would have been a tie for the second place between South Africa and India.
How to break the tie? As per the 2023-25 Playing Conditions, the teams will be ordered by more series wins.
In this hypothetical cycle, India had won against Sri Lanka home and away, against the West Indies at home, and in Australia, and lost in South Africa and England. South Africa, on the other hand, beat Bangladesh, India, Australia, and Pakistan at home, but lost in England and Sri Lanka, as well as to Sri Lanka at home.
Both teams had thus won four series, but South Africa had played seven series to India’ six. That should have sealed things in India’s favour, but let us check the next condition as well: “They will be ordered by the higher percentage of available points earned by each team in their away matches (“Away Points Percentage”).”
In six away Tests, South Africa had won one and lost five – in other words, a PCT of 16.67. India, on the other hand, had 48.89 (seven wins, seven defeats, one draw from 15 Tests).
To sum up, it would have been a New Zealand-India final – an apt imaginary prequel to the real one in 2019.

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