ICC World Test Championship
The ICC World Test Championship, also referred to as the Test World Cup, is the international championship of Test cricket. It is a league competition run by the International Cricket Council (ICC), with its inaugural season starting in 2019. In line with the ICC's goal of having one pinnacle tournament for each of the three formats of international cricket, it is the premier championship for Test cricket. Australia are the current champions, having defeated India in the 2023 final. India have played in each WTC final, finishing runners up in both.
| Administrator | International Cricket Council |
|---|---|
| Format | Test cricket |
| First edition | 2019–2021 |
| Latest edition | 2021–2023 |
| Next edition | 2023–2025 |
| Tournament format | League and Final |
| Number of teams | 9 |
| Current champion | Australia (1st title) |
| Most successful | New Zealand Australia (1 title each) |
| Most runs | Joe Root (4,307) |
| Most wickets | Nathan Lyon (187) |
| 2023–2025 | |
| Tournaments |
|---|
The league games of WTC are not considered as an ICC event and the broadcasting rights are with the host nation's cricketing board itself and not with ICC. But unlike the league stage matches, the WTC finals are considered to be an ICC event. The inaugural ICC World Test Championship started with the 2019 Ashes series and finished with New Zealand lifting the trophy after defeating India in the final in June 2021. The second ICC World Test Championship started on 4 August 2021 with the Pataudi Trophy series and finished with Australia lifting the trophy after defeating India in the final in June 2023. The 2023-2025 ICC World Test Championship started in 2023 and will conclude with the finals in England in the summer of 2025.