England jumped from ninth to sixth place on the World Test Championship points table in the space of two games, but they would be in a better place had they not been docked points for slow over rates.
England were at the bottom of the points table when they began their home summer of 2024. If a win against the West Indies at Lord’s helped them narrow the gap, subsequent victories at Trent Bridge and Edgbaston helped them jump three places.
England’s PCT (36.54) is well clear of the West Indies (19.05), South Africa, and Bangladesh (25), and marginally behind fifth-placed Pakistan (36.67). This is how the teams stand as of now (July 30).
One can see the impact of the 19 points England lost during the 2023 Ashes. It also hurt Australia (and – albeit marginally – India and Pakistan), but not as much as England. That begs the question...
What would the WTC table look like had points not been docked for over rates?
England’s PCT would have zoomed to 48.72. True, they would have moved up only one place, but their gap with New Zealand and Sri Lanka (50 each) would have come down drastically.
This would have held irrespective of whether India, Australia, and Pakistan had been docked points. If no one had lost points, India would have been at 70.37 and Australia at 69.44. In other words, their gap with the other sides – already massive – would have been even bigger. Pakistan, too, would have increased marginally, up to 40. They would have remained behind England either way.
What if England were not docked points but everyone else was, and England beat Sri Lanka 3-0?
That would catapult England to 58.33 – past New Zealand’s 50 – while Sri Lanka would plunge to 28.57. If Australia were docked 10, England would still have stayed behind their 62.50. However, an India win in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy would push Australia below England.
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