New Zealand Aim To Topple England From Third Spot On World Test Championship Table

In the upcoming two-match Test series against West Indies, New Zealand will be looking to make full use of home conditions and get full 120 points to consolidate their position in the World Test Championship (WTC) standings. New Zealand are currently fourth in terms of percentage points won in the WTC standings. In November, the ICC changed the WTC points system due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the two finalists of the WTC will now be decided on the basis of percentage points won.

Winning both matches of the series, in Hamilton and Wellington, could see the Kiwis overtake England and move into the third position with 0.625 percentage points after four series, having previously drawn 1-1 with Sri Lanka and lost 3-0 to Australia before pulling off a 2-0 home series win over India.

Australia overtook India to the top position in the WTC standings and these two teams will fight it out in a four-Test series immediately after this one while New Zealand get another chance to get WTC points on the board with a two-Test home series against Pakistan starting on December 26.

Each series of the WTC is worth 120 points, distributed evenly over the number of matches in a series. The points range from 60 for each match of a two-Test series to 24 for each match of a five-Test series.

New Zealand captain Kane Williamson will be leading a few top-ranked players as they aim to progress in the ICC Men's Test Player Rankings.

Williamson, a formerly top-ranked player, is the only batter from either side in the top 10, in 4th position. Tom Latham (12th), Ross Taylor (15th) and Henry Nicholls (19th) are in the top 20, a reflection of the team's strong batting line up.

New Zealand excel in the bowling department in rankings terms, with pace bowlers Neil Wagner (3rd), Tim Southee (4th) and Trent Boult (10th) all among the top 10.

For the West Indies, captain Jason Holder is their leading player in all three lists, he is the top-ranked all-rounder, 5th on the bowlers' list and ranked 43rd among batters.

Fast bowlers Kemar Roach (15th) and Shannon Gabriel (20th) are their leading bowlers.

The first Test between New Zealand and West Indies will begin on December 3.

Topics mentioned in this article

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