Percentage of points to determine final wtc standings

'Percentage of points' will determine the final standings of the World Test Championship, the ICC announced on Thursday (November 19). As per the new points system, Australia have

leapfrogged India to the top of the standings with a points percentage of 82.2, while India with a points percentage of 75 have moved CURRENT WTC STANDINGS TEAMS SERIES PLAYED PTS CONTESTED

PTS WON PTS % Australia 3 360 296 82.22 India 4 480 360 75.00 England 4 480 292 60.83 New Zealand 3 360 180 50.00 Pakistan* 3.5 420 166 39.52 Sri Lanka 2 240 80 33.33 West Indies 2 240 40

16.67 South Africa 2 240 24 10.00 Bangladesh* 1.5 180 0 00.00 *_Pakistan and Bangladesh have one match still remaining in their series_ The ICC board approved the recommendation from the ICC

Cricket Committee, headed by Anil Kumble, which suggested the change in the points system considering that several series have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Less than 50 percent

of the WTC matches have been played till date, with the ICC expecting completion of just over 85 percent of the Championship matches by the end of the competition window (March 2021). As per

the current regulations of the WTC, any match not completed is to be considered as a draw with the teams splitting points. The Cricket Committee had considered maintaining the same system

before opting to determine the standings on the basis of matches played. "Both the Cricket Committee and Chief Executives Committee supported the approach of ranking teams based on

completed matches and points earned as this reflects their performance and doesn't disadvantage teams that have been unable to compete all of their matches through no fault of their

own," said ICC Chief Executive Manu Sawhney. "We explored a whole range of options, but our Members felt strongly that we should proceed as planned with the first ever World Test

Championship Final in June next year." The equation for the points percentage is: Points won by a team / Points contested * 100. India have 360 points so far while Australia have 296.

But India have contested for more points than Australia (480:360) which has resulted in a lower points percentage. The points system for the WTC remains the same as before. In a two-match

series, a win carries 60 points while it is 40 for a three-match series. In a series with four Test matches, a win carries 30 points while in a five match series, a win will earn a team 24

points. A total of 120 points is the maximum a team can get from a Test series. India are scheduled to play Australia away and England at home during this WTC cycle. Australia also have an

away series scheduled against South Africa while New Zealand are set to take on West Indies and Pakistan at home. India are expected to complete all their series during this cycle, which

translates into them competing for a total of 720 points. Australia, England and New Zealand, on the other hand, have missed a series each (against Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh

respectively), which means their total competing points is 600. Outside the current top four, only Pakistan - currently ranked fifth - have played three series or more. Pakistan are

scheduled to play two more series while South Africa and West Indies, who have played only two series so far, have three more lined up apiece. Bangladesh have completed only one series and

have missed three. They only have one left against West Indies while they are yet to complete their series against Pakistan, with one match still remaining. "We had to assess whether

the way in which the finishing positions were determined was fair and we decided to make a change based on the matches that the teams actually play and the percentage of points they win from

those matches. The final is scheduled for June 2021 in the UK and will be proceeding as planned. The finishing positions will now be determined by the percentage of points each team wins

from the matches it actually plays. That is to adjust for teams that may not be able to complete all of their series by the end of the competition window," explained Geoff Allardice,

the ICC General Manager. "The ICC Cricket Committee considered this issue and it is the body that makes recommendations on cricket playing issues and cricket regulations. The cricket

committee recommendation was to change the way the finishing positions were determined. It's recommendations were presented to the chief executives on Tuesday for endorsement and that

was ratified by the ICC board yesterday. "It probably won't affect the way matches are played and the competitiveness of the matches. It gives a lot more teams a chance of

contesting the final. But we've got a very exciting six months coming up in the WTC starting in early December with New Zealand vs West Indies. There are probably 4-6 teams in strong

contention to make the final in June next year," said Allardice.