The inaugural edition of the World Test Championship [WTC] is set to start from August 1 with the Ashes and Virat Kohli can't wait for it already.
The first edition of the WTC is set to begin with the top nine Test-playing nations -- Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka and the West Indies and it will have 71 Test matches across 27 series in two years, with the top two teams playing the final in June 2021 at the Home of Cricket -- Lord's.
An admirer of red-ball cricket and perhaps its biggest ambassador in recent times, the Indian captain can't wait for it to get underway and bag the title come June 2021.
"We are awaiting the ICC World Test Championship with great enthusiasm as it adds context to the longest format of the game," Kohli said in an ICC media release.
"Test cricket is very challenging and coming out on top in the traditional form is always highly satisfying. The Indian team has done really well in recent years and will be fancying its chances in the championship," he added.
India will start their campaign against the West Indies in the two-match series and will play a total of 18 Tests during the period of time.
Each team will play six series and each series will count for 120 points, which will be distributed over the number of matches in a series. A two-match series will have 60 points for each while a three-match series will give 40 points to each Test match. A tie results in 50 per cent points available and a draw will be a 3:1 points ratio.
"Test cricket is the pinnacle of our sport. It is the very essence of cricket and the majority of players want to strive to play the purist form of the game," England's leading Test wicket taker, James Anderson, said.
"The ICC World Test Championship is another brilliant initiative for the sport, adding context and relevance to every Test series. Every Test matters, but even more so now," he added.
Organised by the Member Boards, the matches will be played just like any bilateral series, but with the added context of a competition and one champion team.
Opponents were scheduled by collective agreement of the competing members, with a number of the fixtures already committed within existing member rights agreements.
"The ICC Men's Cricket World Cup this summer showed just how important it is for every game to count and for the world's best teams to go head-to-head," said Geoff Allardice, ICC General Manager - Cricket Operations.
"The World Test Championship will bring relevance and context to bilateral Test cricket over the next two years, creating a pinnacle event for the five-day format, just as the World Cups for men and women do in the ODI and T20I formats," he added.
The number of matches in each series can vary between a minimum of two matches, to a maximum of five matches. The first cycle of the WTC consists of only five-day matches and will include day-night matches, subject to bilateral and mutual agreement between the opponents.
Only matches identified as part of the WTC will count towards the championship.
"The World Test Championship is a fantastic initiative. We love playing Test cricket, it's the pinnacle for us, remains hugely popular in Australia and we're fortunate that it enjoys great support at home among players, the media and the public," Australia Test captain, Tim Paine, said.
"To wear the baggy green is the ultimate for all Australian cricketers and if the World Test Championship helps to ensure that all countries make Tests a high priority then that has to be good news for the game in general and the continuing health of the format in particular."
(With PTI inputs)
