XtraTime Web Desk: The ICC World Test Championship is all set to begin from August 1 when Australia will face England in the first match of The Ashes. It will be a unique and long tournament as it won’t be played as a stand-alone tournament. The . The Test championship will comprise a numbers of Tests played over a period of two years, with a final match to decide the eventual winners. The first idea about it came in the mind of ICC back in 2009 and it was later approved by the parent body next year. They first planned that it will start from 2013, but later it was postponed until 2017 and was cancelled later. Again it was later decided that it will be played from August 1 2019 to April 30 2021.
The purpose of ICC World Test Championship?
The championship has been instated with the aim of bringing more context to bilateral Test cricket.
When will the ICC World Test Championship begin?
The championship will begin on August 1. The first Ashes Test in Birmingham, England is set to kick-start the event.
Which teams will compete in the ICC World Test Championship?
The nine top-ranked sides in the world will compete in the championship, with each side playing six series on a home-and-away basis against mutually selected opponents in the two-year cycle.
How will the winner of the ICC World Test Championship be decided?
The top two sides will contest in the ICC World Test Championship final in England in June 2021 to decide the champion.
What will be the points system in the ICC World Test Championship?
Every series in the championship will be worth 120 points, irrespective of the number of Tests. Therefore, a team can score a maximum of 720 points in a cycle.
What will be India’s schedule for the ICC World Test Championship?
India will begin their campaign in the championship with the two-match Test series against the West Indies starting August 22.
Here is India’s full schedule for the championship.
August-September 2019
West Indies (Away) – 2 Tests
October 2019
South Africa (Home) – 3 Tests
November 2019
Bangladesh (Home) – 2 Tests
February-March 2020
New Zealand (Away) – 2 Tests
November 2020-January 2021
Australia (Away) – 4 Tests
January-March 2021
England (Home) – 5 Tests