“Don’t think it’s quite right”: Stuart Broad calls for a change in ICC World Test Championship format

Broad feels WTC is a “really good” concept for giving greater context to Test cricket.

Stuart Broad | GettyWhile England pacer Stuart Broad feels that the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) is a “really good” concept for giving more context to the longest format, he isn’t quite pleased with the current format.

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According to Broad, the format needs to be tweaked to ensure that points in the Test Championship are awarded in sync with the opposition team.

“The World Test Championship is a really good concept, I just don’t think it’s quite right yet. It’s a first-time effort. I can’t quite work out how a five-match Ashes series can be worth the same as India playing Bangladesh for two Tests.

“There’s something in the idea and it has given great context to the game but there needs to be work done on how it all comes together, I think,” Broad was quoted as saying by PA News Agency.

The Test Championship was introduced by the ICC in 2019 to give greater context to the traditional format of the game. It featured 9 of the 12 Test-playing nations, each of whom was scheduled to play a Test series against six of the other eight teams. However, the competition got ruined by the global COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in indefinite suspension of quite a few bilateral series.

The raging outbreak also forced the governing body to adopt a percentage-based points model in order to keep the tournament on track.

As far as the point system in the World Test Championship is concerned – each series had 120 points up for grabs. The number of points for each Test was equal to 120 divided by the total number of matches in the series.

India and New Zealand will square off in the inaugural World Test Championship final at Ageas Bowl, Southampton from June 18 to 22.

 
 

By Salman Anjum - 13 May, 2021

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