The championship

The World Test Championship

Two years of Test cricket, nine teams, and one table that decides who plays the final at Lord’s. Everything below is computed from match results rather than copied from anyone — because almost every published version of it is wrong in some way.

Cycle 2025-27 · final at Lord's, June 2027 · standings as of 2026-08-07

Points table

The standings as they are, computed from match results. The top two on percentage contest the final.

#	Team	Pld	W	L	D	Ded	Pts	PCT
1	AUS	8	7	1	0	—	84	87.50
2	SA	4	3	1	0	—	36	75.00
3	NZ	6	4	1	1	—	52	72.22
4	BAN	4	2	1	1	—	28	58.33
5	IND	9	4	4	1	—	52	48.15
6	SL	4	1	1	2	—	20	41.67
7	ENG	13	4	8	1	−14	38	24.36
8	PAK	6	2	4	0	−8	16	22.22
9	WI	12	2	8	2	−2	30	20.83

The top two on PCT contest the final. Deductions are over-rate penalties, already subtracted from the points column.Computed from match results and cross-checked against the published table. As of 2026-08-07.

Team records

The whole cycle as a grid. Read across a row for how that side has fared against each opponent, and what it still has to play. Each pair meets only once, so every meeting is either home (H) or away (A) — and that changes what a result means: India’s 0–2 to South Africa was at home. The Left column totals what remains; South Africa have eight of their last ten at home.Won–lost–drawn, from the row team’s view. A dash is a pair that never meets this cycle. Results only — over-rate deductions are not applied here, so totals differ from the official table for sanctioned sides. As of 2026-08-07.

won
lost
drawn
still to play
(H) at home · (A) away

Team	AUS	ENG	IND	NZ	PAK	SA	SL	WI	BAN	Home	Away	Left
AUS	·	4–1(H)	5T (A)	4T (H)	—	3T (A)	—	3–0(A)	2T (H)	4–1	3–0	146h/8a
SA	3T (H)	3T (H)	2–0(A)	—	1–1(A)	·	2T (A)	—	2T (H)	—	3–1	108h/2a
NZ	4T (A)	2–1(A)	2T (H)	·	2T (A)	—	2T (H)	2–0–1(H)	—	2–0–1	2–1	104h/6a
BAN	2T (A)	2T (H)	—	—	2–0(H)	2T (A)	0–1–1(A)	2T (H)	·	2–0	0–1–1	84h/4a
IND	5T (H)	2–2–1(A)	·	2T (A)	—	0–2(H)	2T (A)	2–0(H)	—	2–2	2–2–1	95h/4a
SL	—	—	2T (H)	2T (A)	2T (A)	2T (H)	·	0–1–1(A)	1–0–1(H)	1–0–1	0–1–1	84h/4a
ENG	1–4(A)	·	2–2–1(H)	1–2(H)	3T (H)	3T (A)	—	—	2T (A)	3–4–1	1–4	83h/5a
PAK	—	3T (A)	—	2T (H)	·	1–1(H)	2T (H)	1–1(A)	0–2(A)	1–1	1–3	74h/3a
WI	0–3(H)	—	0–2(A)	0–2–1(A)	1–1(H)	—	1–0–1(H)	·	2T (A)	2–4–1	0–4–1	20h/2a

Points vs percentage

Most tables are ranked by points won. The championship is not: it ranks on the percentage of available points, because teams play different numbers of Tests. Read the two orderings side by side and five of the nine sides move.

The table most sites display is ranked by raw points, but the championship is decided on percentage of points available. Five of the nine teams sit in a different place depending on which you read.WTC 2025-27 · as of 2026-08-07 · computed from match results

The table most sites display is ranked by raw points, but the championship is decided on percentage of points available. Five of the nine teams sit in a different place depending on which you read.
Team	By points	By points rank	By PCT	By PCT rank
AUS	84	1	87.50	1
SA	36	5	75.00	2
NZ	52	2	72.22	3
BAN	28	7	58.33	4
IND	52	3	48.15	5
SL	20	8	41.67	6
ENG	38	4	24.36	7
PAK	16	9	22.22	8
WI	30	6	20.83	9

Penalty points

Slow over rates cost points, and the deductions are large enough to decide qualification. England have lost more than a full win’s worth.

Three sides have been docked points for slow over rates this cycle. England have lost 14 — more than a full win, and a large part of why their ceiling now sits below a qualifying mark.Light bar = points earned; dark = points kept after deductions · as of 2026-08-07

Three sides have been docked points for slow over rates this cycle. England have lost 14 — more than a full win, and a large part of why their ceiling now sits below a qualifying mark.
	Points earned	Points kept
ENG	52	38
PAK	24	16
WI	32	30

What each series is worth

Not every remaining series carries the same weight. A side that has played four Tests can swing further on two results than one that has played thirteen — so the same fixture is worth very different amounts to the two teams in it. These are the eight with most riding on them, measured by the side with more to gain or lose.

The span of percentage outcomes still open to whichever side has more at stake. South Africa's remaining series carry the widest swings in the cycle, because they have played only four Tests.Bar = the full range of that side's possible PCT after the series; tick = where they stand now · as of 2026-08-07

The span of percentage outcomes still open to whichever side has more at stake. South Africa's remaining series carry the widest swings in the cycle, because they have played only four Tests.
	Lowest %	Current %	Highest %	Span
SA v AUS	42.86	75	85.71	42.85
SA v ENG	42.86	75	85.71	42.85
AUS v NZ	43.33	72.22	83.33	40
IND v AUS	53.85	87.5	92.31	38.46
ENG v PAK	14.81	22.22	48.15	33.34
SL v IND	27.78	41.67	61.11	33.33
AUS v BAN	38.89	58.33	72.22	33.33
BAN v WI	38.89	58.33	72.22	33.33

Qualification simulator

Every series still to be played. Set results and watch the table, the share of remaining scenarios and the whole two-year timeline move together.

Set the remaining results

Every series still to be played in the 2025–27 cycle. Set any of them and the table, the scenario share and the timeline all move together. Or reveal our prediction and argue with it.

Fill every series

Our prediction is an editorial guess, not a computation — everything else here is arithmetic. Note that calling every series leaves one possible outcome, so the scenario share becomes 100% or nothing; clear some to make it informative again.

Remaining series

Home side in bold, touring side in grey. A • marks a series between two sides who can both still reach the final — those are the ones worth changing first.

•SLvIND2T · 2026-08
•AUSvBAN2T · 2026-08
•ENGvPAK3T · 2026-08
•SAvAUS3T · 2026-10
•BANvWI2T · 2026-10
•NZvIND2T · 2026-10
•SAvBAN2T · 2026-11
•PAKvSL2T · 2026-11
•AUSvNZ4T · 2026-12
•SAvENG3T · 2026-12
•NZvSL2T · 2027-01
•INDvAUS5T · 2027-01
•BANvENG2T · 2027-02
•SLvSA2T · 2027-02
•PAKvNZ2T · 2027-03

Table as it stands

#	Team	Pld	PCT	Top-2 scenarios
1	AUS	8	87.50	63.6%
2	SA	4	75.00	38.9%
3	NZ	6	72.22	43.5%
4	BAN	4	58.33	24.8%
5	IND	9	48.15	15.3%
6	SL	4	41.67	12.3%
7	ENG	13	24.36	0.1%
8	PAK	6	22.22	1.7%
9	WI	12	20.83	—

Top-2 share from 20,000 sampled combinations. Set more series and this becomes exact.

Highlight

Each team's PCT after every Test of the cycle. Solid where it was actually played; dashed where you have projected it. The two teams currently in the qualifying places are picked out; the rest are context.x-axis: Tests of the 2025-27 cycle in order (71 in total), one step per Test rather than per day — so a busy month takes more width than a quiet one. The wild early swings are real, not noise: after one Test a side's PCT is literally 0 or 100, which is exactly why early standings mean little. Over-rate deductions are excluded — they carry no published date, so England's line sits above their official PCT by exactly their sanction.

Each team's PCT after every Test of the cycle. Solid where it was actually played; dashed where you have projected it. The two teams currently in the qualifying places are picked out; the rest are context.
Team	one step per Test \u2014 ticks mark the calendar	PCT
AUS	3	100
AUS	6	100
AUS	8	100
AUS	16	100
AUS	19	100
AUS	21	100
AUS	23	85.71
AUS	24	87.5
SA	13	0
SA	14	50
SA	15	66.67
SA	17	75
NZ	18	33.33
NZ	20	66.67
NZ	22	77.78
NZ	27	58.33
NZ	28	66.67
NZ	29	72.22
BAN	1	33.33
BAN	4	16.67
BAN	25	44.44
BAN	26	58.33
IND	2	0
IND	5	50
IND	7	33.33
IND	9	33.33
IND	10	46.67
IND	11	55.56
IND	12	61.9
IND	15	54.17
IND	17	48.15
SL	1	33.33
SL	4	66.67
SL	30	44.44
SL	31	41.67
ENG	2	100
ENG	5	50
ENG	7	66.67
ENG	9	58.33
ENG	10	46.67
ENG	16	38.89
ENG	19	33.33
ENG	21	29.17
ENG	23	37.04
ENG	24	33.33
ENG	27	39.39
ENG	28	36.11
ENG	29	33.33
PAK	13	100
PAK	14	50
PAK	25	33.33
PAK	26	25
PAK	32	20
PAK	33	33.33
WI	3	0
WI	6	0
WI	8	0
WI	11	0
WI	12	0
WI	18	5.56
WI	20	4.76
WI	22	4.17
WI	30	14.81
WI	31	16.67
WI	32	24.24
WI	33	22.22

Points are 12 for a win, 4 for a draw, 6 for a tie; PCT is points won divided by points available. Standings as of 2026-08-07, computed from match results. Scenario share is a count, not a forecast — it is the proportion of remaining outcome combinations in which a team finishes in the top two. Every combination is counted once, which is not the same as every combination being equally likely, so it is not a probability. The top two on PCT contest the final at Lord’s in June 2027.

How points work

The scoring is simple; the ranking is what trips people up.

Points for a win

The same for every Test, in every series.

Points for a draw

Points for a tie

Vanishingly rare — twice in Test history.

pts ÷ available

Percentage of points

Available means 12 × Tests played. This, not the points total, is what the table is ranked on.

≠

Why not just points

Australia have played 8 Tests, England 13. Ranking on totals would reward whoever plays most.

−

Over-rate deductions

Points are docked for slow over rates and come straight off the total, dragging the percentage with them.

Two sides reach the final: the top two on percentage. There is no fixed qualifying mark — the bar is wherever second place ends up, which is why a team can improve and still fall.