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Cricket PlayersICC announces full schedule of WTC 3: India, Pakistan, Australia get tough draw, advantage South Africa
The structure of the nine-team WTC remains the same with each team playing three home and three away series over a two-year period culminating in the final.
The third edition of the World Test Championship will officially commence with the Australia vs England five-match Ashes series starting Friday. ICC announced a detailed schedule of Test-playing nations that will take in the next cycle of the WTC between 2023 and 2025. Australia begin their defence in Birmingham on Friday with Lord’s, Leeds, Manchester and The Oval hosting the remaining matches.
Australia play nine matches in this cycle away from home, which include two-Test series against New Zealand and Sri Lanka. At home, they play against India (five), Pakistan (three) and the West Indies (two), for a total of 10 Tests.
England feature in 10 Tests at home and 11 away. They host the West Indies (3) and Sri Lanka (2) apart from Australia, while playing away in India (five), Pakistan (3) and New Zealand (3).
India’s two-Test tour of the West Indies, where they play in Dominica and Trinidad next month, is also part of the third edition of the WTC.
The runner-ups will host New Zealand for a three-match series, England for five Tests and Bangladesh for two matches. Apart from the West Indies, India will tour Australia (five Tests) and South Africa (two Tests) in the third WTC cycle.
South Africa has got the most favourable schedule. They host three Asian teams - Pakistan, Sri Lanka and India at home and their away fixtures are against New Zealand, West Indies and Bangladesh.
The structure of the nine-team WTC remains the same with each team playing three home and three away series over a two-year period culminating in the final of a one-off Test. The points percentage system used in the previous edition will determine the leaderboard with teams getting 12 points for a win, six for a tie and four for a draw.
Full fixtures for all teams in the third cycle of WTC
Wasim Khan, ICC’s General Manager of Cricket said the WTC had been great in enhancing interest in Test cricket and wished players all the best ahead of the new cycle.
Wasim Khan: “The third edition of the ICC World Test Championship begins on Friday with another highly anticipated series between England and Australia.
“This championship has invigorated Test match cricket, bringing context for players and fans, and a high level of competitiveness as teams battle it out to be crowned World Test Champions at the end of the two-year cycle.
Captains Ben Stokes of England and Pat Cummins of Australia said they were excited and hoped to start well.
Ben Stokes: “We are looking forward to the new cycle of the World Test Championship, and hope we get off to a good start.
“The Ashes combined with World Test Championship points makes it an intriguing series against Australia. I am sure fans worldwide will be following the proceedings with eagerness. We are excited, for what the English summer holds.”
Pat Cummins: “It has been a very enjoyable and rewarding journey through this World Test Championship and we very much look forward to the next cycle.
“It was a goal of ours to reach the final and the fact we were able to win is a great outcome for the group. It’s a great start to our UK tour but there’s plenty of hard work still to be done over the next five Test matches.”
