Australia beat New Zealand in the first Test in Wellington by 172 runs. Here is the updated World Test Championship points table after Australia’s victory in Wellington.
Subscribe to the Wisden Cricket YouTube channel for post-match analysis, player interviews, and much more.
New Zealand have fallen from the top spot on the WTC points table after their defeat in Wellington. They entered the game with a points percentage (PCT) of 75 per cent, but the defeat reduced that number to 60, below India’s 64.58.
On the other hand, Australia are now closing in on the top two: their victory in Wellington was their seventh from 11 games in the ongoing cycle of the WTC, taking them to third on the points table.
New Zealand were outplayed by Cameron Green in the first innings, who scored a mammoth 174 not out to hand Australia the advantage on day one, following which Nathan Lyon’s ten wickets across the two innings left the hosts reeling as they lost the game by 172 runs.
Australia take a 1-0 lead in the Tegel Test Series 🏏 Head to https://t.co/3YsfR1YBHU or the NZC App for the full scorecard 📲 #NZvAUS pic.twitter.com/P5ob41tcI2
— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) March 3, 2024
India, who have won three Tests on the bounce against England at home, have benefitted from New Zealand’s defeat in Wellington, jumping to the top spot in the process. Both the India-England series and the Australia-New Zealand series have one Test remaining each.
If India win their fifth Test against England, they’ll consolidate their position at the top, improving their points pct to 68.51 per cent. If they lose, however, their points pct will drop to 57.4 per cent.
If New Zealand win the second Test against Australia, their points pct will jump up to 66.66 percent and Australia’s will drop to 54.17. If the result is switched, New Zealand’s points pct will drop down to 50 and Australia’s will rise to 62.5. Which means that an Indian victory in Dharamsala will assure them of a top-spot in the WTC points table for the time being.
The above points may be altered if a team falls behind on the over rate.
WTC points table: Updated standings after the NZ vs AUS Wellington Test
[breakout id=”0″][/breakout]
The first two teams from the table will meet for the final at Lord’s in 2025.
