With more than half the cycle to go, there are several contenders for the top two spots
S Rajesh20-Aug-2024India
India lead the WTC table, having taken 68.52% of the total points available to them so far (74 out of a maximum of 108 points from nine Tests), but they have a tough tour of Australia coming up in November. Before that series, they have five home Tests lined up against Bangladesh and New Zealand.For India to finish above 60% – they qualified for the final with 58.8 in 2023 – they need 63 points from the maximum of 120 on offer in these 10 Tests. (A win fetches 12 points and a draw four.) Five wins and a draw will fetch India 64 points, which will keep them above 60% (assuming they aren’t docked points for offences like a slow over rate).Australia
Australia are one of only two teams to have already played four out of six series in this cycle; West Indies are the other. They are sitting pretty on 62.5%, but their final ranking will largely depend on how they fare at home against India, a team which has beaten them in their last four Test series, including twice in Australia. To finish on the right side of 60%, they need 47 more points from seven Tests, which they can get with four wins, or three wins and three draws.New Zealand
With three wins and three losses in their six Tests so far, New Zealand are on 50%, which means they need to do a lot more to finish with an overall score of 60%. Of the 96 points available in their eight remaining Tests, they need to score at least 65. Five wins and a couple of draws will do the job, but that looks an extremely tough ask given that three of those eight Tests are in India.Getty ImagesSri Lanka
Sri Lanka have the same 50% score as New Zealand, but they have played only two of six series. They have nine more Tests in this cycle, and from the 108 points on offer, they need 70 to finish above 60%. That means six wins, or five wins and three draws, which in turn means they can’t afford to drop too many points in the three-Test away series in England.South Africa
South Africa and Bangladesh are the two teams playing the fewest Tests this cycle – 12, compared to England’s 22. That’s all the more reason to make every game count, but so far from six Tests South Africa have picked up only 28 points, including 16 from the 1-0 series win in West Indies last week. To get to 60%, they need 59 more points from six Tests, which means five wins. They have four home Tests coming up against Sri Lanka and Pakistan, where they will have to try and pick up maximum points, before travelling to Bangladesh for an away series.Pakistan
Like Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, Pakistan have played only two out of six series in this cycle. Both of them were overseas – in Sri Lanka and Australia – which means they have the opportunity to make the most of home conditions in the three series against Bangladesh, England and West Indies; their only remaining away series is in South Africa.To get to 60%, Pakistan need 79 out of 108 points available to them from their nine remaining Tests. They can get those with six wins and a couple of draws, or seven wins. Given that they have exactly seven home games to come, that looks like a pretty straightforward equation.England’s bazball approach has been fast on scoring but slow on over-rates•Alex Davidson/Getty ImagesEngland
Had it not been for 19 penalty points deducted because of a slow over rate, England would have had a much heathier percentage of 48.72. Now, though, they need 102 out of 108 points in their nine remaining Tests to finish above 60%. If they win eight of those Tests and draw one, they will get 100. That means they need to win every remaining Test in this cycle – if they do that, they can give away six more penalty points and still finish on the right side of 60.Bangladesh
Bangladesh have four series left, but only one of those is at home, against South Africa. To finish on 60%, they need 75 points out of a possible 96 from eight Tests, which means six wins and a draw.West Indies
West Indies have already played four series and have only scored 20 points out of 108. Even if they win their last four Tests, they can only finish on 43.59%.
