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28 October 2024
The race to make the World Test Championship final is hotting up.
With eight Tests remaining in the 2023-2025 cycle, three teams are still in with a realistic chance of making it to Lord’s and playing for the right to be crowned world Test champions.
Holders Australia are still firmly in the mix, as are India – beaten finalists in the first two editions of the competition – and South Africa.
Defeats for Sri Lanka and New Zealand against South Africa and England respectively have all but ended their hopes.
BBC Sport looks at what each team needs to clinch a top-two spot and progress to the final.
World Test Championship points table
How does the World Test Championship points system work?
Each World Test Championship cycle runs for two years. The current one began in June 2023 and finishes with the final in June 2025.
Teams play six series in that time – three at home and three away – with 12 points awarded for winning a match, six for a tie and four for a draw.
However, as teams play a different number of Tests across their six series, the table is ranked by percentage of points won.
So a win (12 points) is 100%, a tie (six points) 50% and a draw (four points) 33.3%.
Meanwhile, sides can be deducted points for a slow over-rate.
World Test Championship schedule & fixtures
November 2024-January 2025: Australia v India (five-match series)
December 2024-January 2025: South Africa v Pakistan (two-match series)
January 2025: Pakistan v West Indies (two-match series)
January-February 2025: Sri Lanka v Australia (two-match series)
World Test Championship qualification scenarios
South Africa (best possible finish: 69.44%)
A 2-0 series win over Sri Lanka helped South Africa climb to the top of the table.
The situation is simple – they need to win only one of their Tests against Pakistan to secure a place in the final.
Australia (best possible finish: 67.54%)
Australia’s points percentage has dropped slightly following the draw in the third Test against India in Brisbane, but they remain in second place.
The series is level at 1-1 and a 3-1 win would guarantee a place in the final.
A 2-2 draw would mean they need to win one Test in Sri Lanka in the new year.
India (best possible finish: 60.53%)
India remain in third place but the Brisbane draw does not change their requirements too much.
They still need a 3-1 win against Australia to secure a place in the final.
A 2-2 draw would mean they need Sri Lanka to win the series against Australia.
Sri Lanka (best possible finish: 53.85%)
Sri Lanka’s hopes are now almost over. They need to beat Australia 2-0 and hope a lot of other results go their way.
We are effectively into a three-horse race for two spots.
New Zealand, England, Pakistan, Bangladesh and West Indies are no longer in contention to reach the final.
But it is worth noting that it could all change again if sides are deducted points for a slow over-rate, as five teams have in this cycle, including England and Australia during the 2023 Ashes.
World Test Championship winners list
The World Test Championship was launched in 2019 by the International Cricket Council (ICC) so that each format of the game had a pinnacle tournament.
The previous winners are:
2019-2021: New Zealand (beat India)
2021-2023: Australia (beat India)
When is the World Test Championship final?
The 2025 World Test Championship final will take place at Lord’s in England. The five-day match is scheduled to begin on 11 June.
There will be ball-by-ball radio commentary available across the BBC.
