World Test Championship explained: points, PCT and final
How the World Test Championship works: 12 points a Test, ranking by percentage, over-rate penalties, the 2025-27 table and the final at The Oval in June 2027.
Why it matters
The championship decides which two Test teams play for the title, and percentage scoring means one result can move a team several places. Knowing the formula makes the table readable.
The ICC World Test Championship turns two years of Test cricket into a single league table, and the top two teams meet in a one-off final. The current cycle runs from June 2025 to June 2027, and its final will be played at The Oval in London from 9 to 13 June 2027.
Nine teams take part. Each Test is worth 12 points, and the table is ranked by the percentage of available points a team has won, not by total points. That is why a side with 52 points can sit far above one with 74.
Quick answer: A Test win earns 12 points, a tie 6, a draw 4 and a defeat nothing. Teams are ranked by points percentage (PCT): points won divided by points available. Slow over rates cost one point per over short. After two years, the top two play a final in England.
Who is top of the World Test Championship table?
Australia lead, but the next week matters. South Africa and Australia are level 1-1 in their three-Test series, with the deciding Test at Newlands, Cape Town, from 27 to 31 October 2026. Australia won the first Test in Durban; South Africa won the second at Gqeberha by an innings and 31 runs, finishing on 22 October.
| Team | Played | Won | Lost | Drawn | Points | PCT (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | 12 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 108 | 75.00 |
| New Zealand | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 52 | 72.22 |
| South Africa | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 48 | 66.67 |
| Bangladesh | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 40 | 55.56 |
| India | 11 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 68 | 51.52 |
| England | 16 | 7 | 8 | 1 | 74 | 38.54 |
| Sri Lanka | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 24 | 33.33 |
| West Indies | 12 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 30 | 20.83 |
| Pakistan | 9 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 4.63 |
Source: Wisden and the ICC standings as compiled on Wikipedia, 22 October 2026. Points are after over-rate deductions.
Using the ICC’s points rules, and assuming no new over-rate penalties, the Cape Town result moves the top of the table like this:
| Cape Town result | Australia PCT (%) | South Africa PCT (%) |
|---|---|---|
| South Africa win | 69.23 | 71.43 |
| Draw | 71.79 | 61.90 |
| Australia win | 76.92 | 57.14 |
Source: Daily Summit calculation from ICC points rules and the 22 October 2026 table.
A South African win would lift them above Australia, though New Zealand (72.22) would still lead both.
How are WTC points awarded?
Every Test is worth the same 12 points, whatever the length of the series. The ICC says it chose this for the second cycle to make the system simpler. Under the first cycle, from 2019 to 2021, each series carried 120 points split across its matches, so a win in a two-Test series was worth 60 points and a win in a five-Test series only 24.
| Result | Points | Share of the 12 available |
|---|---|---|
| Win | 12 | 100% |
| Tie | 6 | 50% |
| Draw | 4 | 33.3% |
| Loss | 0 | 0% |
Source: ICC World Test Championship FAQs; Wikipedia.
The flat 12 points changed the value of long series. A five-Test series such as the Ashes is now worth 60 points to the winner of every match, while a two-Test series is worth 24. Under the old system both were worth the same 120 in total, so a single win in a short series counted two and a half times as much as a win in a long one. Today a Test in Dhaka or Galle carries exactly the same weight as one at Lord’s or Melbourne.
That also means series results do not score anything on their own. There is no bonus for winning a series 3-0; the points come only from the individual matches. A two-Test series shared 1-1 gives each side 12 points, exactly what one win in any other series is worth.
Why is the table ranked by percentage?
Because teams play very different amounts of cricket. Each team plays six series, three at home and three away, but series range from two Tests to five. By our count from the published fixture list, Australia play 22 league Tests in this cycle and England 21, while Bangladesh and Sri Lanka play 12 each.
The percentage system arrived by accident. The first cycle began with total points, but when COVID-19 forced series to be postponed or cancelled, the ICC switched to ranking by percentage so the competition could finish on time. It has stayed that way.
The formula is simple: points won, minus any penalties, divided by 12 times the number of Tests played. England’s 74 points from 16 Tests is 74 out of 192, or 38.54 percent. New Zealand’s 52 points from 6 Tests is 52 out of 72, or 72.22 percent.
How slow over rates cost teams points
Teams must bowl their overs at a set rate. For each over a team is short at the end of a match, it loses one championship point. The penalty comes off the points won but not off the points available, so it hurts the percentage directly.
The cost can be large. In this cycle England have lost 14 points, more than a whole Test win, and Pakistan 19. Without those deductions England would be on 45.83 percent instead of 38.54, and Pakistan on 22.22 instead of 4.63.
What happens in the WTC final?
The final is a single Test between the top two teams. For the first final in 2021, the ICC’s playing conditions set aside a reserve day for lost time, and said a draw or tie would make the two teams joint champions. We could not find the ICC’s published conditions for the 2027 final.
England hold the hosting rights for the 2027, 2029 and 2031 finals, awarded by the ICC in July 2025, and the ECB chooses the ground.
- 18 to 23 June 2021: New Zealand beat India by eight wickets at the Rose Bowl, Southampton.
- 7 to 11 June 2023: Australia beat India by 209 runs at The Oval.
- 11 to 14 June 2025: South Africa beat Australia by five wickets at Lord’s with Aiden Markram scoring 136 in the fourth innings. It was South Africa’s first major ICC title since 1998.
- 9 to 13 June 2027: The next final, at The Oval.
Is the World Test Championship fair?
The uneven fixture list is the main complaint. Percentage scoring evens out the number of games, but not who those games are against or where they are played. Two teams on the same PCT may have earned it against very different opposition, and a team that plays most of its cricket at home has an easier route than one with long away tours.
Sample size matters too. The fewer Tests a team has played, the more one result moves its percentage. One more win would add about 4.8 points to South Africa’s PCT, but only about 1.9 to Australia’s, because Australia have already played twice as many Tests.
The draw is the other quiet lever. A draw earns a third of a win, which pushes teams chasing a final place to take risks for victory rather than bat out a match.
Changes are being discussed for the cycles after this one, including expanding the championship to all 12 Test nations; reports say a two-tier format with promotion and relegation was dropped. As of October 2026 we could not confirm a final ICC decision.
How to read the table until June 2027
Watch the PCT column, not the points. Remember that every Test is worth 12 points, that teams with few matches left can still jump several places with one win, and that the top two on the final table go to The Oval. For South Africa and Australia, the next five days in Cape Town come close to deciding one of those places.
More rules explained: how Formula 1 points work and football’s offside rule.
