No negative points for losing World Test Championship match

The ICC WTC will begin soon after next year’s World Cup in England and the points would be allotted for a win, tie and draw. Teams will not be imposed negative points for a loss.

Should a Test be abandoned because of unfit playing conditions, the visiting team will be allotted the win points.

A team making a clean sweep of a Test series in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) will get maximum 120 points.

The ICC WTC will begin soon after next year’s World Cup in England and the points would be allotted for a win, tie and draw. Teams will not be imposed negative points for a loss.

The points arrangement, that is actually part of the playing conditions of the WTC, was cleared at the ICC Chief Executives meeting and ICC Board at the annual conference in Dublin in July and placed before the ICC Board at its quarterly meeting in Singapore.

The points arrangement

For a two-Test series: 60 points for a win, 30 for a tie and 20 for a draw.

For a three-Test series: 40 for a win, 20 for a tie and 13 for a draw.

For a four-Test series: 30 for a win, 15 for a tie and 10 for a draw.

For a five-Test series: 24 for a win, 12 for a tie and eight for a draw.

Teams will not be imposed negative points for a loss.

Should a Test be abandoned because of unfit playing conditions, the visiting team will be allotted the win points.

The other salient features of the WTC playing conditions are: (1) There will be joint champions if the final ends in a draw. A team needs to win the final to be crowned the Test champion; (2) A reserve day should be scheduled for the final to maximise the chances of obtaining a result. If the net playing time is lost during the final, then the reserve day will be activated; (3) The ball used in Test matches in the country hosting the final shall be used in the final.