World Test Championship set to stay nine-team contest till 2031
Afghanistan, Zimbabwe and Ireland are expected to remain outside the WTC for the next two cycles • Afghanistan Cricket Board
The World Test Championship (WTC) is set to remain at nine teams for the next two cycles through to 2031, despite some vocal support for an expanded competition.
Fierce debate is expected at the ICC board's all-day meeting on Sunday in Bali, where this long-running issue will finally be decided. The board is expected to ultimately back the ICC's recommendations to keep the competition as is for the 2027-29 and 2029-31 cycles.
The WTC is currently in the back-end of its fourth cycle, with the format having undergone much discussion in recent years, including a push for a two-tier league at one stage.
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A proposal to expand the WTC to all 12 Full Members in one division, a recommendation from an ICC working group led by former New Zealand batter Roger Twose, had gained steam in the past year. It received strong support from Zimbabwe, Ireland and Afghanistan, the Full Members not part of the WTC.
But with doubts lingering among members over whether more teams would bring more commercial value (the WTC remains a league organised and scheduled by members bilaterally, with only the final run by the ICC) the ICC has preferred retaining the format for the time being.
Foreshadowing what's ahead at the board meeting, there was robust debate over the issue on Saturday at a Chief Executives' Committee meeting that lasted more than four hours. There were impassioned pleas from the three Full Members on the outer, who believe their Test development is being stifled without WTC status. They also rue not having a chance to get into the top nine without a promotion-relegation system in place.
Cricket South Africa was also understood to be strongly supportive of expansion with chief executive Pholetsi Moseki providing a rallying cry during the CEC meeting. The positions of the BCCI and Cricket Australia remain unclear. England have played Zimbabwe and Ireland in one-off Tests in recent years, but the ECB is believed to be reticent over expansion due to travel and financial burdens.
The ECB and Zimbabwe Cricket are in the midst of finalising England's historic tour to Zimbabwe after a three-decade drought. Initially earmarked for 2028, the tour is set to take place in 2030 and include a Test match at Victoria Falls.
Sunday's board meeting looms as a last-ditch effort for expansion proponents, who are bracing for the worst. There is the very slim chance of a compromise through a 10-team competition, given Zimbabwe's strong appetite for Test cricket: they played 10 Tests in 2025 though only two this year.
Meanwhile, a strategic review into international cricket's future - involving scrutiny of cricket's three official formats - will be tabled to the board. A presentation from global management consulting firm McKinsey, who undertook the review, was held in Bali on Saturday night ahead of the board meeting.
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