International Cricket Test Championship mace goes to India
For the third year in a row, India
retains the ICC Test Championship mace.
The cutoff date for the ICC Test rankings is April 1st each
year. The top teams win prizes, with a first prize of US$ 1 million going to
India as the winners.
Manu Sawhey, the ICC Chief Executive, congratulated the
Indian team, and commented on the importance of Test cricket.
“I congratulate India on retaining the ICC Test Championship
Mace, and appreciate the passion Virat Kohli’s team has shown across formats
over the past few years,” said Sawhey.
“Test cricket has been enjoying a purple patch over the last
couple of years with more positive results than ever. There is a genuine
competitive balance between nations.”
Top Ranked Test Teams
The past year came with excellent Test wins for team India.
There was, as expected, excellent success at home with wins against Afghanistan
and the West Indies. Overseas saw a loss against England, but a win against
Australia. The Australia tour saw India attain their first ever Test series win
Down Under.
During the past year, India stayed at the top of the
rankings throughout. In addition to this, Virat Kohli reached the level of top
Test batsman.
While India was the clear winner, second place went to New
Zealand, receiving a US $500,000 prize. New Zealand had a good year with their
team captain Kane Williamson getting the 2018 ICC Spirit of Cricket award. Kane
commented on his team’s “awesome” achievement.
The somewhat disappointed South Africa came in third. For
the past two years, South Africa claimed second place, falling to third place
this year. South Africa receives a US $100,000 prize. Australia reached fourth
place, winning US $100,000, and coming in just ahead of England.
Virat Comments
India’s national team skipper, Virat Kohli, expressed his
pride in a statement. He said: “Retaining the ICC Test Championship Mace once
again is something we are all really proud of. Our team has been doing well
across all formats. But it gives us extra pleasure to come out on top of the Test
rankings. We all know the importance of Test cricket and of how only the best
can prosper in the format.”
Kohli further noted: “Our team has a lot of depth. I am sure
this will stand us in good stead once the ICC World Test Championship commences
later this year. That is again something we are really looking forward to as it
adds more context to Test match cricket.
World Test Cricket Championship
In 2021, the World Test Championship Final takes place. Fans
should expect excitement at the culmination of 71 Test matches by nine Test
nations, playing in 27 series.
ICC Test Rankings 2018 - 2019:
·
1st – India – 116 points
·
2nd – New Zealand – 108 points
·
3rd – South Africa – 105 points
·
4th – Australia – 104 points
·
5th – England – 104 points
·
6th – Sri Lanka – 93 points
·
7th – Pakistan – 88 points
·
8th – West Indies – 77 points
·
9th – Bangladesh – 68 points
·
10th – Zimbabwe – 13 points
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