ICC World Test Championship Winners: Which Teams Have Won the Test Mace Till Now
For fans of Test cricket, the ICC World Test Championship is a format where the best teams face each other. This tournament was introduced by the International Cricket Council in 2019. The main aim was to bring back excitement to traditional Test cricket.
This tournament runs for two years and includes the top nine Test-playing nations. Each team plays six series – three at home and three away. At the end of each cycle, the top two teams on the points table qualify for the final. The team that wins the final lifts the ICC Test mace.
So far, three cycles have taken place – 2019–21, 2021–23, and 2023–25 is going on. All finals have been played in England. Let’s look at the teams who have won the ICC World Test Championship till now.
ICC World Test Championship 2019-21: New Zealand made history in the first edition
The first edition of the ICC World Test Championship started in 2019 but was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Many series had to be postponed or cancelled. At first, rankings were going to be based on points, but later ICC decided to use “win percentage” to choose the finalists.
Under the captaincy of Kane Williamson, New Zealand played five series in the tournament. They won 7 out of 11 matches and lost 4. Their win percentage was 70.00, which placed them second after India, who had a win percentage of 72.20.
India was led by Virat Kohli at that time. The final of the WTC 2019-21 was played at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Southampton.
In that match, New Zealand performed better in all parts of the game. In the first innings, India were all out for 217. Kyle Jamieson bowled very well and took 5 wickets. New Zealand replied with 249 runs and took a small lead.
In the second innings, India could only score 170. New Zealand got a target of just 139 runs, which they chased easily. Williamson scored 52* and helped his team win the final by 8 wickets.
ICC World Test Championship 2021-23: Australia showed complete control over the format
In the second cycle of the ICC World Test Championship, Australia performed strongly from the beginning. Under Pat Cummins, they started their campaign with the Ashes 2021-22 series, where they beat England 4-0.
After that, they also won Test series against Pakistan, West Indies and South Africa. Only their series against Sri Lanka ended in a draw. In March 2023, they lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy to India, but still finished on top of the table.
They won 11 matches, lost 3, and drew 5 out of 19 Tests. Their win percentage was 66.67. India was second with a win percentage of 58.80.
The final was played at the Kia Oval in London. Australia scored 469 runs in the first innings. Travis Head made 163 and Steve Smith scored 121. India replied with 296 runs.
In their second innings, Australia declared at 270/8 and gave India a big target of 444 runs. India could not handle the pressure and were all out for 234. Australia won the match by 209 runs and lifted the WTC 2021–23 title.
With this win, Australia became the first country to win ICC trophies in all three major formats – ODI World Cup, T20 World Cup and ICC World Test Championship.
ICC WTC’s Impact: New life for Test cricket
The ICC World Test Championship has made Test cricket more competitive with this format. This trophy is now a symbol of consistency and dominance in the long format. So far, New Zealand and Australia have won the mace.
The next WTC final will be held in 2025. It will be interesting to see if India can win their first WTC title or if another team becomes champion.
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