The fourth World Test Championship began on 17 June 2025 in Galle, where Sri Lanka and Bangladesh played the opening Test. Nine teams will compete across 27 series and 71 matches to reach the Lord’s final in June 2027.
The standings are already shifting with two major series underway. England and Australia are contesting the Ashes, while South Africa’s tour of India has delivered one of their biggest Test wins with a dominant 408 run result in Guwahati.
Australia lead the table currently, with South Africa close behind after strong away performances. Below you can find the updated rankings, points system, recent results, and the complete fixture list for the 2025 to 2027 cycle.
World Test Championship 2025-2027 Live Points Table
Teams compete using percentage calculations rather than raw totals because each nation plays different numbers of matches.
New Zealand won the first cycle in 2021 by defeating India at Southampton, then Australia claimed the 2023 edition before South Africa broke through to win their maiden ICC trophy at Lord’s earlier this year, beating Australia in the most recent final.
| Pos | Team | Played | Won | Lost | Draw | Ded | Points | PCT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Australia | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 48 | 100.00 |
| 2 | South Africa | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 75.00 |
| 3 | Sri Lanka | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 66.67 |
| 4 | Pakistan | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 50.00 |
| 5 | India | 9 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 52 | 48.15 |
| 6 | England | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 26 | 36.11 |
| 7 | Bangladesh | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 16.67 |
| 8 | West Indies | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| 9 | New Zealand | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
Understanding The Columns:
- M: Matches Played
- W: Matches Won (12 points each)
- L: Matches Lost (0 points)
- T: Matches Tied (6 points)
- D: Matches Drawn
- N/R: No Result (4 points)
- PT: Total Points
- PCT: Win Percentage (actual rankings)
World Test Championship Points System Explained: Victories deliver 12 points to the winner, while the losing team gets nothing. Draws split 4 points evenly between both sides. Tied matches hand 6 points to each team when scores finish level after four innings.
Slow over rates trigger penalties where teams forfeit one point per over short of the required 90 overs per day. The percentage system divides points won by total points contested, creating a fair comparison across unequal fixture lists.
WTC Points System
The World Test Championship uses a fixed points structure for every match. Each Test offers the same number of points, and standings are based on the percentage of points won rather than total points. This ensures fairness across teams that play different numbers of matches in the cycle.
| Match Result | Points Awarded |
|---|---|
| Win | 12 points |
| Tie | 6 points |
| Draw | 4 points |
Teams are ranked according to the percentage of points they have earned. The top two teams at the end of the cycle will qualify for the 2027 WTC Final. Points can also be deducted for slow over rates, which directly impacts a team’s standing in the table.
World Test Championship 2025-2027 Full Schedule & Results
The 71-match schedule runs from June 2025 through September 2026 before the final in mid-2027. England hosts 11 fixtures, including five against India and the complete Ashes, while Australia plays 22 Tests split evenly between home and away.
Mitchell Starc became the fastest bowler to take five wickets in Test history during Australia’s tour of the West Indies, dismissing five batters in just 15 deliveries at Kingston to help bowl the hosts out for 27, the second-lowest total ever recorded.
| Date | Match | Venue | Result or Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tue 17 Jun 2025 | Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka | Galle | Match drawn |
| Fri 20 Jun 2025 | India vs England | Leeds | England won by 5 wickets |
| Wed 25 Jun 2025 | Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka | Colombo SSC | Sri Lanka won by an innings and 78 runs |
| Wed 25 Jun 2025 | Australia vs West Indies | Bridgetown | Australia won by 159 runs |
| Wed 02 Jul 2025 | India vs England | Birmingham | India won by 336 runs |
| Thu 03 Jul 2025 | Australia vs West Indies | St Georges | Australia won by 133 runs |
| Thu 10 Jul 2025 | England vs India | Lords | England won by 22 runs |
| Sun 13 Jul 2025 | Australia vs West Indies | Kingston | Australia won by 176 runs |
| Wed 23 Jul 2025 | England vs India | Manchester | Match drawn |
| Thu 31 Jul 2025 | England vs India | The Oval | India won by 6 runs |
| Thu 02 Oct 2025 | India vs West Indies | Ahmedabad | India won by an innings and 140 runs |
| Fri 10 Oct 2025 | India vs West Indies | Delhi | India won by 7 wickets |
| Sun 12 Oct 2025 | Pakistan vs South Africa | Lahore | Pakistan won by 93 runs |
| Mon 20 Oct 2025 | Pakistan vs South Africa | Rawalpindi | South Africa won by 8 wickets |
| Fri 14 Nov 2025 | India vs South Africa | Eden Gardens | South Africa won by 30 runs |
| Fri 21 Nov 2025 | England vs Australia | Perth | Australia won by 8 wickets |
| Sat 22 Nov 2025 | India vs South Africa | Guwahati | South Africa won by 408 runs |
| Tue 02 Dec 2025 | New Zealand vs West Indies | Christchurch | Match yet to begin |
| Thu 04 Dec 2025 | Australia vs England | Brisbane | Match yet to begin |
| Wed 10 Dec 2025 | New Zealand vs West Indies | Wellington | Match yet to begin |
| Wed 17 Dec 2025 | Australia vs England | Adelaide | Match yet to begin |
| Thu 18 Dec 2025 | New Zealand vs West Indies | Mount Maunganui | Match yet to begin |
| Fri 26 Dec 2025 | Australia vs England | Melbourne | Match yet to begin |
| Sun 04 Jan 2026 | Australia vs England | Sydney | Match yet to begin |
| Thu 04 Jun 2026 | England vs New Zealand | Lords | Match yet to begin |
| Wed 17 Jun 2026 | England vs New Zealand | The Oval | Match yet to begin |
| Thu 25 Jun 2026 | England vs New Zealand | Nottingham | Match yet to begin |
| Wed 19 Aug 2026 | England vs Pakistan | Leeds | Match yet to begin |
| Thu 27 Aug 2026 | England vs Pakistan | Lords | Match yet to begin |
| Wed 09 Sep 2026 | England vs Pakistan | Birmingham | Match yet to begin |
Australia last lost an Ashes series at home in 2010-11 when England won three matches under Andrew Strauss. Since then, Pat Cummins’ team won 13 Tests and drew two against England on Australian soil.
India’s Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy finished with England claiming the Lord’s Test by 22 runs after Joe Root scored his 37th Test century. Shubman Gill captains India following Rohit Sharma’s retirement from international cricket after the 2023-25 cycle ended.
The Importance Of The World Test Championship
Test cricket faced an existential crisis before 2019. Bilateral series happened without stakes beyond momentary pride, making each contest feel isolated from anything bigger. Leagues in Twenty20 formats attracted crowds while Test matches struggled to fill grounds.
The ICC created the championship to solve this problem, giving every Test meaning within a broader competition. The two-year structure allows teams to prove themselves across seasons rather than relying on brief tournaments.
It measures consistency in both home conditions, where teams typically excel, and away venues where they face greater challenges. New Zealand lifted the first trophy at Southampton in 2021 before Australia claimed the 2023 edition at The Oval.
South Africa then won at Lord’s in 2025, their first global title in any format. Prize money reaches $1.6 million for the winners alongside the Test Mace trophy. Each match now carries weight toward qualification rather than existing in isolation.
Teams must win across two full years to reach the final, eliminating the luck factor that sometimes decides knockout events. The format forces boards to schedule Test cricket even when franchise competitions offer easier money.
Rankings update after every match, keeping fans engaged between series. By requiring teams to face different opponents in varied conditions, the championship identifies who performs best over extended periods rather than hot streaks.
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Conclusion: The Top Two Teams Qualify for the Lord’s Final in 2027
Australia and South Africa currently lead the table with strong early form, putting themselves in a favourable position for the 2027 Lord’s Final. Sri Lanka and Pakistan remain contenders but will need consistency against tougher upcoming tours. India and England sit mid table and cannot afford slip ups because one poor series can significantly drop their percentage.
The points based system keeps the race open, with slow over rate penalties and tough away conditions adding extra pressure on every side. With major series like the Ashes and Pakistan’s tour of England still ahead, only teams that perform steadily across varied conditions will stay in the top two and earn a place at Lord’s in June 2027.
FAQs
Teams collect 12 points when they win any Test match during the cycle, with this amount staying constant whether the victory comes in a two-match series or a five-match series between the same opponents.
The percentage calculation divides points earned by total points contested across all matches played, which prevents teams participating in more Tests from gaining unfair advantages over nations playing fewer fixtures in the cycle.
Each nation must complete all six scheduled series before the final takes place, as the ICC mandates full participation to determine accurate final standings, though weather-affected abandoned matches count as draws, splitting four points.
The ICC applies tiebreakers beginning with total series victories first, then comparing away match win percentage, and finally using the official Test rankings at the end of the cycle to separate teams occupying identical percentage positions.
Bangladesh, England, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and West Indies have not appeared in any of the three finals contested so far, while Australia, India, and New Zealand have all qualified at least once, with South Africa reaching their first in 2025.
