The ICC’s World Test Championship (WTC) is intended to enhance the importance and appeal of Test matches in an era dominated by franchise cricket. The WTC involves teams playing three series of five Test matches each – two home and one away, with each match counting towards the overall standings. The resulting points table is complicated by the fact that richer nations such as Australia, England and India play five-Test series that are high quality, lucrative and difficult to win but which count for fewer points in the standings than two-Test series played by smaller teams.
The inaugural WTC final was staged at Southampton’s biosecure Rose Bowl in 2021 and at the Oval in London in 2023 but Lord’s will host the third iteration of this new competition on Wednesday, with defending champions Australia taking on South Africa for the right to lift the oversized mace that is the ICC Test Championship. It is a match that is guaranteed to attract sold-out crowds despite concerns that the reliance on India’s participation could dampen interest.
For all the joy of New Zealand’s underdog triumph in 2021 and Australia’s reversal of that home dominance in 2023, it may be fair to say the most impressive feat in this cycle was the way South Africa’s Pat Cummins and Temba Bavuma ripped the trophy from Australia’s callused grip at Centurion last December. That ruthless display of nerve and resolve shook the assumption that only the biggest teams can hold their own against the best.