The five-match Test series between England and India that starts on August 4 will kick off the second cycle of the World Test Championship. The Pataudi Trophy will be the only five-match series alongside the Ashes in December in the second WTC cycle that runs from August 2021 to June 2023.

Australia's tour of India, in 2022, is the only four-Test series during this cycle. Furthermore, there will be seven three-Test series and 13 series comprising two Tests. The schedule and venue for the final is yet to be finalized by the ICC.

Similar to the first WTC cycle, the second edition will feature nine Test playing nations taking part in a total of six series, that are further bifurcated into three home and three away series each. 

These bilateral series were finalised by the Full Member Boards in 2018 itself before they were locked by the ICC for the 2019-23 Future Tours Programme. The series that were cut short in the first WTC cycle due to the pandemic shall not be carried forward to the next.

India, England and Australia will once again be a part of the big-ticket series while the other six nations will play in a series that has either two or three Tests at the maximum.

England will be playing the most Tests (21) followed by India (19), Australia (18) and South Africa (15). The inaugural WTC winners New Zealand will play only 13 matches, the same as West Indies and Sri Lanka while Pakistan will play 14 Tests. Bangladesh are the only nation to play two matches in each of their six series in WTC 2.

The points system - 12 for a win, 4 for a draw, 6 for a tie

ICC has decided to allow the same number of points for each match to avoid discrepancies later on. Each match in the second WTC cycle will carry 12 points. A draw and a tie shall have four and six points respectively. As for slow over-rate penalties, teams will be docked one point for every fall behind.

Explaining the change in the points system between the two cycles to ESPNcricinfo, ICC's acting chief executive officer Geoff Allardice said, �?Instead of each series being worth the same number of points, 120, irrespective of whether the series is played over two Tests or five Tests, the next cycle will see each match being worth the same number of points - a maximum of 12 per match.

"Teams will be ranked on the percentage of available points they won from the matches they have played. The aim was to try and simplify the points system and to allow teams to be meaningfully compared on the table at any point, though they may have played differing numbers of matches and series."

This is a significant improvement in the points system than what ICC had used in the previous World Test Championship. In the first edition, the international body awarded a maximum of 120 points per series irrespective of the number of matches that were played in it.

This created a lot of confusion not only amongst fans but also amongst the the teams.

Featured photo : Glyn Kirk / AFP

New Zealand captain Kane Williamson and Indian cricket team skipper Virat Kohli are not only a couple of the best batsmen in world cricket across formats, but they are also good mates on and off the field. 

Their mutual respect and camaraderie was visible during the recently concluded World Test Championship (WTC) final between India and New Zealand at Southampton. 

In what was one of the lighter moments in the WTC final, Kohli and Williamson were seen embracing each other after the latter anchored his side to victory over India. The Kohli-Williamson heartwarming gesture also went viral on several social media platforms. 

"It was a great moment, you know, toe to toe, and obviously, Virat and I have known each other for a long time and we are mates. It's always a great part of sports as you get the opportunity to meet people all around the world and form different friendships," Williamson told India Today about the gesture.

"Different experiences that you have either together or against each other. And often you find a bit of common ground and share a few common interests and that’s quite special," the New Zealand skipper added.

Interestingly, the two batting maestros Kohli and Williamson have known each other since their Under-19 days, when they were trying to break into their respective senior teams.

Currently, Kohli has scored more than 22,000 runs in international cricket across formats. The Indian captain has also slammed 70 hundreds in his career thus far. On the other hand, Kiwi skipper Williamson has more than 15,000 runs to his credit at the international level, including 37 centuries. 

While Kohli will lead India in the upcoming five-match Test series against England in the United Kingdom (UK), Williamson and New Zealand don’t have any immediate international assignments.

Featured photo : Glyn Kirk / AFP

The Virat Kohli-led Indian cricket team will play two four-day intra-squad games ahead of their five-match Test series against England starting on August 4, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) confirmed on Friday.

The visitors will begin their camp from July 15 at the Riverside ground in Durham as part of their preparation for the upcoming red-ball series against a strong England outfit.

 

Interestingly, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had requested the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to schedule a couple of warm-up matches against English county sides. However, the request was declined by the ECB owing to the strict coronavirus protocols put in place.

"Due to COVID-19 protocols, they will play two intra-squad four-day matches before the first Test in August," an ECB spokesperson was quoted as saying to news agency PTI on Friday. 

India captain Virat Kohli has reportedly expressed his annoyance after the tourists have been denied an opportunity to test themselves ahead of the highly-anticipated Test series.

Meanwhile, Team India cricketers are currently on a two-week break after suffering a defeat in the inaugural World Test Championship (WTC) final against New Zealand. The players are expected to assemble in London on July 14 and then travel to Durham, where they will stay in a bio-bubble.

India will play their first Test of the five-match series at Trent Bridge Cricket Ground in Nottingham. 

Featured photo: Glyn KIRK / AFP

After the rain-hit World Test Championship (WTC) final between the Indian cricket team and New Zealand in Southampton, England, we take a look at some iconic cricket matches affected by rain.

Debacle in Durban

South Africa v Sri Lanka, 2003 World Cup

Mark Boucher had revived South Africa from 149/5 to 229/6 amid a drizzle in their pursuit of Sri Lanka’s 268/9 in the 2003 World Cup in Durban. Having hit a six to bring South Africa level with the Duckworth-Lewis par score, Boucher played a dot off the last ball of the 45th over, wrongly believing his team were ahead. The rain became heavy, and no further play was possible. To Boucher and South Africa’s horror, they discovered the game had only been tied, when a win was needed. Rain had knocked South Africa out of yet another World Cup.

Suspense in Sydney

Australia v India, 3rd Test, 2021

Both Australia and India had won a Test each going into the third match of the 2020-21 series at the iconic Sydney Cricket Ground. Although rain interrupted the Australian first innings several times, nearly 425 overs were eventually bowled in the game. Armed with a first-innings lead of 94, Australia posted 312/6 declared in the second, setting India 407 to win. Until Rishabh Pant (97 off 118) was batting, even an Indian win seemed possible. Thereafter, the injured duo of Hanuma Vihari and R Ashwin resisted the Australian bowlers for almost 43 overs to earn India a memorable draw.

Level at Lord’s

England v India, 4th ODI, 2011

Rain had already intervened in England’s chase of India’s 280/5 at Lord’s a couple of times. Ravi Bopara had led the hosts�?fightback from 173/5, and along with Graeme Swann, had taken England ahead of the D/L par score. However, Swann was run out by Munaf Patel in the 49th over, and next ball Bopara was caught in the deep by Ravindra Jadeja on 96, leaving England on 270/8. Those two quick wickets dragged England back to the par score. Rain did not allow any further play, leaving the match tied at the home of cricket.

Heartbreak in Harare

Scotland v West Indies, World Cup Qualifier, 2018

Scotland had restricted the powerful West Indies batting to 198 in their World Cup Qualifier match in Harare. Rain had been threatening to come down in Scotland’s chase, in which they had recovered from 67/4. However, Richie Berrington (33) was given out lbw with the score on 105 when the ball seemed headed down the leg side. At 125/5 in the 36th over, the rain intensified to prevent further play. By then, Scotland had fallen five runs behind the DLS (erstwhile DL) par score. It was the end of their 2019 World Cup dream, while West Indies went through.

Soggy in Southampton

India v New Zealand, WTC final, 2021

Despite a reserve day being added, it seemed that rain would wash out the inaugural World Test Championship final at the Hampshire Bowl in Southampton. No play was possible on days one and four, and days two and three were curtailed. However, the weather cleared after an early shower on day five, and the match headed into the sixth and final day with all results possible. India went on to crash from 71/2 to 170 all out in their second innings, and New Zealand reached the target of 139 late in the evening for an eight-wicket title win.

Featured photo : Glyn Kirk /AFP

India were 182/5 in their first innings in the World Test Championship (WTC) final against New Zealand when they lost Ajinkya Rahane. They were soon bowled out for 217. 

New Zealand lost their sixth wicket at 162, 20 runs fewer than India’s score at six-down. However, they stretched their first innings to 249, with No. 9 Tim Southee’s 30 ensuring a vital lead of 32 in a low-scoring match.

New Zealand are in the lead. Shades of the 2020 series in New Zealand, when NZ's tail runs made the difference.

India's last 4 wickets fell for 12; NZ have already added 60 since their 6th wicket fell

�?Tim Wigmore (@timwig) June 22, 2021

The Indian cricket team’s second-innings batting collapse on the sixth morning has taken most of the blame for their loss in the WTC final. Captain Virat Kohli said they were at least 30-40 runs short of setting New Zealand a challenging target.

 

However, had the Indian bowlers been able to prevent New Zealand from getting to 249 from 162/6 and 192/7, Kohli would have had the additional runs he wanted. Eventually, though, the scorecard registered an eight-wicket loss, making the match appear much more one-sided than it actually was.

Theme of 2018 England tour

This is exactly what kept happening throughout India’s previous Test trip to England in 2018. India would stay neck and neck with England in the first innings. Then someone from the England lower order would play a blinder, and the match would slip away due to India’s inability to clean up the tail.

This became the theme right from the series opener at Edgbaston, Birmingham. Kohli’s epic 149 had kept India’s first-innings deficit to just 13. England were then reduced to 87/7 in their second innings and had an overall lead of just 100, giving India a great chance of starting the five-Test series with a win.

But Sam Curran, only 20 then and playing just his second Test, cracked 63 off 65 at No 8. England stretched their second innings to 180 and India fell 32 short of the target of 194.

India were to be blown away by an innings in the second Test at Lord’s, London, but even there, they had England on 131/5. It was Chris Woakes�?turn now, as he made his maiden Test ton. His unbeaten 137 at No 7 took England to 396/7 declared, shutting India out of the match.

In the fourth Test in Southampton, Cheteshwar Pujara’s century gave India a first-innings lead of 27. England were down to 122/5 and 178/6 in the second innings. And again, Curran struck 46 to revive England to 271. India managed 184 in pursuit of 245 to surrender the series.

The fifth and final Test at The Oval, London will be remembered for Alastair Cook’s farewell century in a comfortable England victory margin of 118 runs. Even here, India had England on 181/7 and 214/8 in the first innings. It was No 10 Stuart Broad who blasted 38 this time and along with No 7 Jos Buttler (89), took England to 332.

Since that tour, Kohli has often said that those matches were a lot closer than the scoreline of 1-4 suggests. They surely were, but what stands is that India lost the series 1-4.

Similarly, this WTC final was a lot closer than the eight-wicket defeat margin suggests. Who knows what could have been had India quickly run through the Kiwi tail. But it is New Zealand who are now the inaugural WTC winners.

And five more Tests await India again in England, in August and September. Hopefully, the Indian bowling attack will not let the English tail wag as much again.

Featured photo: Glyn KIRK / AFP

Jasprit Bumrah’s 83 Test wickets have come at an average of 22.79. No other Indian cricket team bowler who’s played at least 20 Tests �?the same as Bumrah �?has ever managed a better average. 

In just 20 Tests, Bumrah has already taken five five-fors, the same number that Mohammed Shami has in 51 Tests. In a short career, he has Test five-wicket hauls in Australia, England, South Africa and the West Indies.

However, when it comes to New Zealand, Bumrah’s numbers tell a different story. In three Tests against the Kiwis, Bumrah has taken just six wickets at an average of 41.16. 

Among active Indian fast bowlers who have played at least three Tests against New Zealand, only Umesh Yadav (47.66) has a worse average. However, four of Umesh’s five Tests against the Kiwis have come in India, where conditions are usually more difficult for pacers.

All three of Bumrah’s Tests matches against New Zealand have come in bowling-friendly conditions in Wellington, Christchurch and now in Southampton, where Bumrah has gone wicketless from 26 overs in the World Test Championship (WTC) final. His fellow fast bowlers Ishant Sharma and Shami have got more out of the Hampshire Bowl pitch than he has been able to.

Bumrah’s disappointing Test/ODI record vs New Zealand

Opposition	Tests	Wickets	Average	Strike-rate
New Zealand	3	6	41.16	87.6
Other teams	17	77	21.36	48.1

Not only in Test matches, Bumrah has not had as much success against New Zealand in ODIs as well.

Opposition	ODIs	Wickets	Average	Strike-rate
New Zealand	11	13	36.84	46.9
Other teams	56	95	23.75	30.6

But when it comes to the shortest format -- in which he first came into the limelight -- Bumrah’s record against New Zealand improves considerably. His T20I record against New Zealand is more or less similar to his record against all other opponents.

Opposition	T20Is	Wickets	Average	Strike-rate
New Zealand	9	10	21.30	20.4
Other teams	41	49	20.04	17.7

Featured photo: DAVID GRAY / AFP

India’s premier pacer Jasprit Bumrah is often used to making headlines with his deadly bowling. However, in the ongoing World Test Championship (WTC) final between India and New Zealand, he found himself in the spotlight for the wrong reasons.

At the start of the fifth day of the WTC final, as the New Zealand cricket team resumed batting Bumrah came out onto the field wearing a regular Test jersey, -- displaying sponsor BYJU’S -- instead of the WTC final jersey which has INDIA imprinted in bold letters.

The rule says that for any International Cricket Council (ICC) event, the country’s name should always be mentioned in the centre.

Bumrah, who has not been in the best of form of late, realised his mistake after bowling his first over and by the time he went to the dressing room and returned with the correct jersey, social media erupted.

Bumrah be like #WTCFinal2021 pic.twitter.com/BYRvjI2CiP

�?RVCJ Media (@RVCJ_FB) June 22, 2021

lmao Bumrah wore the wrong jersey

�?RIA (@riaahahaha) June 22, 2021

Bumrah comes to play with wearing regular byju's sponsored jersey pic.twitter.com/h4bNjN1WHh

�?Kisslay Jha (@TrollerBabua) June 22, 2021

My request for @icc
allow bumrah to play with mi jersey pic.twitter.com/xNnt1oaRQK

�?Prince Tarun°�? (@PrinceTarun_18) June 22, 2021

It's been such a long Test that Bumrah forgot to wear the right jersey.

�?Aditya Mantry (@aditya_mantry) June 22, 2021

Jasprit Bumrah bowled 26 overs in the first innings and conceded 57 runs. He didn’t pick a single wicket despite conditions that have tested the batsmen.

India batted first and scored 217 in their first innings. The Kiwis responded with 249 in what has been a rain-marred WTC final. Mohammed Shami and Ishant Sharma picked up seven wickets between them, while the spinners cleaned up the rest.

Featured photo : Saeed Khan / AFP

Although Jasprit Bumrah burst onto the scene as a T20 specialist, the Indian pacer has managed to enhance his skills over the past few years and has evolved into a more rounded and complete pace bowler.

In an exclusive chat with the International Cricket Council (ICC), the 27-year-old opened up on how he has grown and evolved as a cricketer over the years.

“So basically, what I try to do is, I channelise my anger. When I started as a youngster, I used to get angry left, right and center and I used to do all types of gimmicks which didn't really help my game a lot,�?Bumrah said in a chat with the ICC.

“So, over the years I played a lot of international cricket, realised what works for me. So, I am smiling but the fire inside is burning all the time. I don't try to show it all the time but this is the way that helps me to succeed and with that controlled aggression, I try to take my game forward,�?the Ahmedabad-born bowler added.

Unlike many cricketers, the Indian pacer never had any idols growing up, but insisted that he never refrains from picking the brains of former cricketers at any given opportunity. 

“I never had a particular favourite but have followed a lot of great fast bowlers while growing up. Nowadays, when I meet them, I ask a lot of advice from them,�?he explained.

Bumrah made his international debut in 2016 and has since become a vital part of the Indian pace attack across formats.

He is currently playing the ongoing World Test Championship (WTC) final against New Zealand in Southampton and is also a part of the Indian team which will take on England in the five-match Test series, starting on August 4.

Bumrah has already taken 250 wickets in international cricket and is ranked fifth in the ICC ODI rankings for bowlers.

Featured photo: AFP / Glyn Kirk

When he dismissed New Zealand opener Devon Conway in the World Test Championship (WTC) final, Ishant Sharma went past Kapil Dev to become the leading wicket-taker in Test matches for India in England.

Ishant -- for whom the WTC final in Southampton is his 13th Test in England -- now has 44 wickets in the country at an average of 33.56.

Among current bowlers, Mohammed Shami, with 21 wickets in nine Tests in England, is a distant second to Ishant.

Further, Ishant is now only seven wickets behind Zaheer Khan’s overall tally of 311, while R Ashwin is also seven short of Harbhajan Singh’s career haul of 417 Test wickets. While the Test career bowling averages of Zaheer (32.94) and Ishant (32.23) are similar, Ashwin (24.68) is way ahead of Harbhajan (32.46).

 Most Test wickets for India in England

Bowler	Matches	Wickets	Average	Five-fors
Ishant Sharma	13	44	33.56	2
Kapil Dev	13	43	39.18	2
Anil Kumble	10	36	41.41	0
Bishan Bedi	12	35	38.08	1
B Chandrasekhar	9	31	33.96	2
Zaheer Khan	8	31	27.96	1
Mohammed Shami	9	21	47.95	0
Vinoo Mankad	6	20	33.90	2
S Venkataraghavan	10	20	41.05	0
Bhuvneshwar Kumar	5	19	26.63	2

Kapil Dev remains the only bowler to have taken 50 or more Test wickets for India in any opponent country, with his 51 wickets in Australia. With the five-Test series in England to follow the WTC final, Ishant is likely to become the second Indian bowler to take 50 Test wickets in an opponent country.

Most Test wickets for India in an opponent country

Country	Bowler	Matches	Wickets	Average	Five-fors
Australia	Kapil Dev	11	51	24.58	5
West Indies	Anil Kumble	11	45	31.28	3
South Africa	Anil Kumble	12	45	32.02	1
England	Ishant Sharma	13	44	33.56	2
Pakistan	Kapil Dev	15	44	40.02	3
Sri Lanka	R Ashwin	6	38	21.57	3
New Zealand	E Prasanna	7	35	19.25	3
Bangladesh	Zaheer Khan	7	31	24.25	2
Zimbabwe	Irfan Pathan	2	21	11.28	3

Featured photo : Dibyanghsu Sarkar / AFP

As rain and bad light continue to make a mockery of the World Test Championship final, former England batsman Kevin Pietersen has also joined the chorus of fans asking why such an important game was scheduled in the UK.

The fans�?ire and disappointment is understandable. Weather in England, especially in June, can be cruelly wet for cricket, as we are currently witnessing in Southampton.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) had even managed to create a fair bit of buzz around the WTC final, in a format that can certainly do with all the public attention it can generate. To see all the expectations for the big final literally go down the stormwater drain is probably the worst outcome for an inaugural championship. It doesn’t matter now that the sun was beating down in Southampton in the days leading up to the WTC final.

It pains me to say it, but a ONE OFF & incredibly important cricket game should NOT be played in the UK.

�?Kevin Pietersen (@KP24) June 21, 2021

 

The worst planners of all time pic.twitter.com/FOI24OK1Xm

�?Sagar (@sagarcasm) June 19, 2021

Could the ICC have done better with the scheduling? Perhaps, had it been a perfect world. However, we are in the midst of a raging pandemic. Venues such as Southampton �?with a four-star hotel attached to the stadium �?are the reason why we are even getting to see international cricket in these times.

The cricket calendar has been upturned by the pandemic. The Indian T20 League was held in the UAE six months behind schedule last year. This year’s edition was postponed midway in India and a proper window for its completion in the UAE is still in the works.

At this time of the year, the monsoon usually starts to rage, ruling out most of South Asia as a venue for the WTC final. It isn’t cricket season in the southern hemisphere, so countries such as Australia, New Zealand and South Africa are out of the reckoning. West Indies�?time is not suitable for the Indian television viewership, and they are also hosting South Africa right now. The UAE is too hot for Test cricket to be played at this time. That leaves only England as the possible venue.

Batsman ko bhi Timing nahi mili dhang ki, aur ICC ko bhi#WTCFinal

�?Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) June 21, 2021

That the WTC has managed to take shape, after all, is itself a massive achievement for the ICC. There had been a couple of abandoned attempts in the previous decade. The WTC cycle began only after the 2019 World Cup and the pandemic has disrupted the calendar since early 2020.

For playing the WTC final in these times of quarantine protocols, India are having to send a second-string team to Sri Lanka for the limited-overs tour in July.

In hindsight, the ICC will ideally have to scout for a venue less vulnerable to rain for the next WTC final. But that cycle also ends in June two years hence and the same paucity of options will confront the ICC.

 Early start in England?

A mitigating decision could be to advance the start time for the WTC final in England. The current playing conditions permit the start time to be advanced by only half an hour to make up for the lost time.

Now the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) may like to stick to tradition and not start Test matches before 11 am. But by then, the sun will have been blazing for quite a while already on a normal summer day in southern England.

So what prevents the ICC from starting the WTC final at say, 9.30 or 10 am? It makes little sense to have no play under a blazing morning sun and then going off for bad light early in a nominally extended evening session.

Test matches can start as early as 9 am at Eden Gardens in Kolkata as the light fades early in east India in winter. In fact, Ranji Trophy matches farther east in Guwahati and Agartala can start still earlier at 8.30 am.

Hopefully, the ICC will have learnt a bitter lesson from the disaster of this WTC final, and we will have a much better showcase for the longest format of the game in the next summit clash.

Featured photo : Glyn Kirk / AFP