The International Cricket Council (ICC) inaugurated the ICC World Test Championship on August 1, 2019. Test cricket’s top competition is intended. The ICC wants one peak competition for each of cricket’s three formats. The 2009 competition was cancelled. It was moved to June 2017, with a second Test championship in India in February–March 2021. The top four teams on 31 December 2016, the ICC’s cut-off date, would play the three-match Test championship. The semi-final winners played the final. In January 2014, the ICC World Test Championship was discontinued and the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy resurrected.
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In October 2017, the ICC announced that its members had agreed to a Test league, with the top nine sides playing series across two years and the top two teams qualifying for a World Test League Championship Final, an ICC event. The host nation’s cricket board had broadcasting rights for WTC league games, not ICC. WTC finals were ICC events, unlike league stage matches. The 2019 Ashes series kicked off the first ICC World Test Championship, which New Zealand won in June 2021 after defeating India in the final. The Pataudi Trophy began the second ICC World Test Championship on 4 August 2021.
History:
2013 tournament cancellation:
The ICC and MCC originally discussed a Test match tournament in 2009. Former New Zealand captain Martin Crowe conceived this idea. In July 2010, ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat proposed a quadrennial tournament with the four best-ranked teams playing in the semi-finals and final to revive interest in the longest version of the sport. The inaugural tournament replaced England and Wales’ 2013 ICC Champions Trophy.
The ICC Chief Executives’ Committee discussed a Test tournament in mid-September 2010 at their Dubai headquarters. After the conference, ICC spokesperson Colin Gibson indicated Lord’s would be the preferred final venue for an English tournament. As expected, the ICC accepted the concept and confirmed the first event will be in England and Wales in 2013. Tournament format was announced. All ten Test cricket nations—Australia, India, England, South Africa, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, West Indies, Zimbabwe, and Bangladesh—would play in the inaugural four-year league stage. After the league stage, the top four teams will compete in the play-offs to determine the Test cricket champion. The board unanimously decided to play off the top four teams instead of the top eight. The competition would also replace the ICC Champions Trophy. Drawn knockout matches had not been decided.
2017 competition cancelled:
At a meeting of ICC Chief Executives in April 2012, it was decided that the ICC Champions Trophy would be held for the last time in 2013. The first Test Championship play-offs are set to start in June 2017. The ICC said that there would only be one trophy for each type of game. Since the Cricket World Cup is the most important event for 50-over cricket, this meant that the Champions Trophy would no longer be played.
The final test might have been set up like other tests in the past. The structure of the championship has also been talked about as a way to make it better. But the 2017 ICC World Test Championship was cancelled in January 2014, and the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy was brought back.
2019–21 tournament:
The 2019 Ashes series was the first tournament. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, matches were put on hold in March 2020 and didn’t start up again until July 2020. Several rounds of matches were either pushed back or cancelled. When it was decided that South Africa and Australia would not play, New Zealand became the first team to qualify for the final. India was the next team to qualify. India and New Zealand played in the first World Test Championship Final at Rose Bowl in Southampton, England, from June 18 to June 23, 2021. Even though it rained on the first and fourth days of the final, New Zealand was able to win the first World Test Championship in the last session of the reserve day.
2021–23 Tournament:
In August 2021, the WTC 2021–23 cycle began. The full schedule and a new points system were made official by the International Cricket Council.
2023-25 Tournament:
The WTC 2023–25 cycle will start on June 16, 2023, with the first Ashes Test. The WTC final will be held at Lord’s in the summer of 2025. This was confirmed by the International Cricket Council.
Results:
| Year | Final host(s) | Final | Player of the match | Reference(s) | |||
| Venue | Winners | Result | Runners-up | ||||
| 2019–2021 | England | Rose Bowl, Southampton | New Zealand 249 & 140/2 | New Zealand by 8 wickets Scorecard | India 217 & 170 | Kyle Jamieson (NZL) | |
| 2021–2023 | England | The Oval, London | TBD | ||||
| 2023–2025 | England | Lord’s, London |
Tournament records:
| World Test Championship Records | ||
| Batting | ||
| Most runs | Joe Root | 2835 |
| Highest average | Usman Khawaja | 72.75 |
| Highest score | David Warner v Pakistan | 335* (2019–21) |
| Most runs in a single tournament | Marnus Labuschagne | 1675 (2019–21) |
| Most hundreds | Joe Root | 11 |
| Most hundreds in a single tournament | Marnus Labuschagne | 5 (2019–21) |
| Bowling | ||
| Most wickets | Pat Cummins | 103 |
| Best average | Axar Patel | 12.10 |
| Best Bowling in an innings | Ajaz Patel v India | 10/119 (2021–23) |
| Best Bowling in a match | Ajaz Patel v India | 14/225 (2021–23) |
| Most wickets in a single tournament | Ravichandran Ashwin | 71 (2019–21) |
| Team | ||
| Highest score | New Zealand v Pakistan | 659/6d (2019–21) |
| Lowest score | India v Australia | 36 (2019–21) |