For years the International Cricket Council has pondered the idea of holding a Test match championship, and now it may finally come to fruition. The Future Tours Program released by the ICC has shed some insights on the inaugural ICC Test Championship.
Date: The tournament will be held between July 15 2019 and April 30 2021
The top nine teams in the ICC Test Rankings will compete in the competition, each team playing six series both home and away in this two year time frame. The top two teams will meet in the final in June 2021. The tournament will kick-start with the Ashes. During the same time, the West Indies are due to tour India while New Zealand hosts Sri Lanka. In the event of a draw or tie in the final, the team that finished the league stage on the top spot will lift the trophy.
Failed edition
The ICC World Test Championship was originally scheduled to take place in 2017, but the ICC eventually put the curtains to event in 2014. Teams would participate in a three-match Test championship spanning three weeks from the first week of June 2017. It was decided that England would host the inaugural edition of the tournament. The original format was stated to feature a league stage played over a four-year period featuring all present ICC test cricket nations. Interestingly, the ICC also planned to stage a second Test Championship in the Indian subcontinent from February to March 2021.
India’s schedule for the 2019–2021 cycle:
July-August 2019: Two away Tests in West Indies
October-November 2019: Three home Tests against South Africa
November 2019: Two home Tests against Bangladesh
February 2020: Two away Tests in New Zealand
December 2020: Four away Tests in Australia
January-February 2021: Five home Tests against England
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