Introduction

Purest always comments Test cricket is the ultimate format for a Cricket player. But the game has also evolved and the new-age cricket fan wishes to see fast-paced cricket games. He may consider the 5-day long 90-over-per-day test match to be a slow and boring game.

Fans prefer shorter formats like the popular T20 tournaments. Even 50 Over tournaments are now relevant only as a World Cup event.

Constant changes to the longest format are the need of the hour to keep it relevant to the new-age audience. World Test Championship is an effort by The International Cricket Council (ICC) in this direction.

The ICC introduced the championship to reinstall the glory of Test cricket of the 70s and 80s.

Presented By: Raghunath Nair

Date: 01/06/2023

ICC World Test Championship impact

The International Cricket Council (ICC) to bring competitiveness into the Bilateral Test series played among nations, introduced the World Test Championship in 2019.

The points accumulated in the two-year period of the assessment determined which team went head-to-head against each other to win the ultimate World Test Championship.

While Test Cricket in the past had no incentive to push the envelope for teams to reinvent the game, a Worldcup event for Test match cricket surely has opened up a new chapter for the 140-year-old format.

The World Test Championship brought in the prestigious Test Mace to be won as World Cup Champions, Prize money, etc.

The inaugural Test Championship Final in 2019, was played between India and New Zealand. New Zealand was the inaugural champion and earned $ 1.6 million while Runners-up India received $ 800,000. Australia received $450,000 for the third position.

ICC World Test Championship Overview

India now gets another chance at the World Test Championship after missing out in the first edition when they go head to head against Australia in the second edition of the World Test Championship to be held on June 7^th, 2023 at the Oval.

The Historic Oval will host an iconic battle between two well-matched sides. This will be the 70^th and the last match in the WTC Cycle.

The current cycle runs from July 2021 to June 2023 and comprises the top nine Test teams, all of whom will play six series each – three at home and three away. The top two teams will compete in the Final.

Format

The tournament is played over two years, with 69 matches over 27 series scheduled for the league stage from which the top two teams advance to the final.

Each team is scheduled to play six series, with three at home and three away. Each series consisted of two to five Test matches. Each participant plays between 12 and 22 matches. Each match is scheduled for a duration of five days.

ICC World Test Championship Impact on International Cricket

While Test series are played as Bilateral, it was important that there was weightage given on every win, draw, or loss and ranked among all test-playing nations to make it interesting. Points for every win carried a bigger incentive for all and the game was pushed to deliver more result-oriented test matches.

The chance of winning an ICC World Cup event has given a much-needed push to all the international teams who now take Test Cricket seriously.

Apart from India, Australia, England, and New Zealand, no other test-playing country focuses on Test cricket. They are played merely as a formality and not at the competitive level it ought to be played. These teams focus on the popular T20 formats which bring in the crowd and generate good revenue for the respective board

With the start of the World Test Championship and seeing how close Sri Lanka came to being in the finals would have propelled other teams to look at Test Cricket with a new perspective.

While T20 and ODI World Cups are the ultimate tournaments to win for an International team, Test cricket now will also get the same attention due to the World Test Championship.

With three formats being played and with the busy International calendar, teams have now started making exclusive teams for all three formats. England was the first team to do this which allowed players to remain fresh throughout the year with a lower risk of fatigue and tiredness.

India on the other hand still prefers their big match players like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, etc to play all three formats which eventually carries a risk of breakdowns and injuries

With a Worldcup Trophy to aim for every two years, it will be just a matter of time before all teams invest in players exclusively for the longer format of the game

Another Impact on International Cricket is due to the fast-paced limited-over tournaments, cricket is played in an aggressive and fast-paced manner even in a 5-day test match. England has been making all the right noise with their “BAZBAL” style of play which makes great television and a new fan base

International Cricket changes

The use of technology and new rules to accommodate the changes has made cricket viewing even at the test match level more appealing. The use of neutral umpires to officiate test matches is one such change. More and More matches are result oriented and the Day Night Test match format – “The Pink Ball Test” is now part of every test series

Conclusion

The Impact of the ICC World Test Championship will be seen in the coming few years. Whether it will make the format popular or not will depend on how well the cricket fans perceive the tournament. The Biggest flaw in the World Test Championship is that it is a one-off Test match to determine a world champion and not even a 3-match series which would ideally be the best way forward