England, New Zealand Test series is not part of World Test Championship; here's why

Mumbai: Last week played host to three simultaneous Test matches taking place at the same time. India vs Bangladesh, Australia vs Pakistan and New Zealand vs England. The first two matches were part of the World Test Championship (WTC), while the match between New Zealand and England was not a part of the championship.

While India and Australia defeated their opponents in three days and four days respectively, the battle between the Black Caps and World Cup 2019 champions boiled down to the last innings of the last day as England lost by an innings and 65 runs. But despite this showing of power by the Kiwis, the match will not have any bearing on the World Test Championship. Why has this happened? Let’s have a look.

With the introduction of new rules to the World Test Championship, the format mandates that each team should play six series under the Test Championship, with three taking place at home and three away. If the New Zealand vs England series would have been a part of the WTC, the Englishmen would have played more than three away series, which would have left the scheduling of the WTC asymmetrical.

Even Indian captain Virat Kohli has made a suggestion regarding the scheduling of the World Test Championship. He said, “A more balanced format would be one series home, one away. We are playing very good cricket but we have played only two Tests away.”