‘I don’t think it’s quite right yet’ – Stuart Broad calls out World Test Championship points system

‘I don’t think it’s quite right yet’ – Stuart Broad calls out World Test Championship points system

Stuart Broad

India and New Zealand are all set to lock horns in the World Test Championship (WTC) final. The much-awaited summit clash will take place at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton and will kick off on June 18. The inaugural WTC cycle faced its share of ups and downs as the pandemic forced a change in the points system.

England quick Stuart Broad is not impressed with the points system of the WTC. Broad admits that the tournament is a great initiative by the ICC to add context to the purest format of the game. But he adds that there is much work to be done to reap the benefits. The veteran quick questioned how can a two-match Test series be compared with a five-match series.

“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,” Broad told the ‘Press Association’.

”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,” he added.

The points system of the World Test Championship

World Test Championship logo
World Test Championship logo

In the inaugural cycle, 120 points were at stake in every series regardless of the number of matches played. The number of points for each Test was equal to 120 divided by the total number of matches in the series. This meant that the winner of a two-match series got 60 points while the victorious team in the 5-match Ashes got 24 points.

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The pandemic saw ICC decide to bring the points percentage (PCT) into the mix. Now the PCT will decide who goes on top, the percentage of points earned compared to the number of points played. England played the most number of matches in the 2019-2021 cycle, 21. Broad reckons that with England playing so many games, it would be difficult for them to qualify for the final if the current points system persists.

“We had an opportunity, but the amount of cricket we play as an England side in the current system makes it very difficult to get into the final,” Broad said.

The innagural edition of the WTC saw India finish as the most successful team in the competition with 5 series wins out of 6. New Zealand won 3 out of 5, Australia 2 out of 4 and England 4 out of 6. India and New Zealand finished at the top of the points table with 72.2 and 70 PCT points respectively.

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