Many scheduled matches in the first season of the ICC Test Championship were canceled due to the novel coronavirus. New Zealand eventually won the inaugural ICC Test Championship in June, defeating India by 8 wickets in the final at Lord's Cricket Ground. After a month off, the second edition of the tournament kicked off with a series between England and India in the first week of August. The two-year championship will end on March 31, 2023. Bangladesh's campaign would most likely begin with a series against Pakistan. The details of the ICC Test championship 2021-2023 have been discussed in this article.
ICC Test Championship 2021-2023: Points System and Number of Series
The ICC has made several important changes to the points allocation and deduction for the second season of the ICC Test Championship.
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In the first edition, every Test series was worth 120 points and those points were evenly distributed between the matches. In a five-match series, a team could have earned 24 points for winning a Test, but a team could have gained 60 points for winning a two-match series.
For the 2021-2023 cycle, a win will now be worth 12 points, a draw will be worth four points, and a tie will be worth six points. As a result, a five-Test series will have a total of 60 points available, while a two-Test series will have a maximum of 24 points. The standings will be decided by the percentage of available points earned, like in the previous edition of WTC.
Because of these changes, the points table doesn't affect by the cancellation of any matches or series for any reason.
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This year's championship features nine Test-playing nations, like in previous editions. Each team will play a total of six series (3 home series and 3 away series).
According to the ICC's calendar, England will play the most Tests with 22, followed by India (19), Australia (18), and South Africa (15). New Zealand, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and the West Indies each of the four teams will play 13 Test matches. Bangladesh will compete in 12 Test matches.
Bangladesh’s Tentative Fixtures for ICC Test Championship 2021-2023
Bangladesh will begin their ICC Test Championship campaign against Pakistan in November this year after the ICC T20 World Cup 2021. Sri Lanka will play Bangladesh in a two-match series in December.
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Bangladesh are scheduled to play New Zealand in a Test series at the start of 2022. They will play this series in New Zealand. Bangladesh will travel to South Africa in March 2022 for a two-match WTC. Bangladesh will also play West Indies in their last away WTC series in mid-June.
Bangladesh will most likely play India in their last home series of the ICC World Test Championship in November 2020. It should be noted that all of Bangladesh's series are two-match affairs.
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Bangladesh’s tentative ICC Test Championship 2021-2023 fixtures
|
Date |
Fixture |
Matches |
|
November, 2021 |
Bangladesh vs. Pakistan (Home) |
2 Tests |
|
December, 2021 |
Bangladesh vs. Sri Lanka (Home) |
2 Tests |
|
January, 2022 |
New Zealand vs. Bangladesh (Away) |
2 Tests |
|
March, 2022 |
South Africa vs. Bangladesh (Away) |
2 Tests |
|
June, 2022 |
West Indies vs. Bangladesh (Away) |
2 Tests |
|
November 2022 |
Bangladesh vs. India (Home) |
2 Tests |
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Bottom Line
The second edition of the ICC Test championship will be held from August 4, 2021 to March 31, 2023. The ICC has made several changes to the points system in order to improve the competition. Hopefully, cricket fans will be excited about the new points system. Bangladesh did not win a single match in the inaugural edition of the competition. So, Bangladesh's main objective would be to win at least a match in the competition. They have a chance to win their first match in the ICC Test Championship 2021-2023 in the forthcoming series against Pakistan in November.