Lineal World Test Championship

Not sure if we've ever had a thread on here, but was thinking about it earlier and managed to find a few references to back up my own calculations!

The idea is, like a boxing belt or an Ashes open to 12 teams and counting, you just have to beat the holders in a series (or even a one-off Test) to take the title. Apparently even Zimbabwe had it once...

Spoiler: It's not at stake in this year's Ashes. So who holds it - India, South Africa, Pakistan, New Zealand perhaps? No - it currently sits with the officially 8th-ranked West Indies, who took it from England earlier this year, England having just won it from Sri Lanka. SL took it from South Africa last July, the Yarpsters having won it in the Sandpaper Series, after Australia did so in the preceding Ashes. The last team to defend it for even a single series was England in 2017...

WI's next Test outing is at home to India. Should they avoid defeat in that series, they then have the chance to comically lose it in a single Test in Afghanistan!

Too simplistic, if i'm reading it right. Doesn't take into account variables like draws, particularly when one side is totally dominant only to miss victory because of rain on the last day. Under that system the title would change hands so many times no one would be able to keep up.

What happened to the Mace??

Big Dog wrote:Too simplistic, if i'm reading it right. Doesn't take into account variables like draws, particularly when one side is totally dominant only to miss victory because of rain on the last day. Under that system the title would change hands so many times no one would be able to keep up.

Well, it’s not seriously intended to be a scientific method of determining who the best Test team is... although a team not losing a series for many years (70s-80s WI or 90s-00s Aus) would almost certainly have held it for a long time.

A drawn series means the title is retained, as per boxing... excluding one- and two-Test series would perhaps make it a bit “fairer”, but that would need a rework going back to 1872

PeterCS wrote:What happened to the Mace??

Doesn’t it sit in the House of Commons, for someone to pick up as a protest when they don’t like what’s going on?

No, no, the one Biff waved around, not Hezza.

Ah ... it still exists ...

https://www.icc-cricket.com/media-releases/1152976


Might spice things up a bit (mace - geddit?) if they substituted a proper one:

https://www.turbosquid.com/3d-models/medieval-morningstar-mace-3d-model-1154614

So, India have the lineal title to add to the Home and Away and official versions. Sixth different holders in a couple of years... first defence at home to South Africa next month.

Wins against South Africa and Bangladesh means India have kept the lineal title as well as the other measures...

And after two successful defences from India, New Zealand become the seventh different team in a couple of years to hold the WBC (World Belt of Cricket) title...

Not clear when and where their next Test is, so the Snoozers could hang onto it for a while!

No movement anytime soon.

Let them have the moment in the sun.

When will this list next change?

First successful defence for the Snoozers, even if they miss out on the official top spot by a whisker.

New Zealand manage a second defence of the WBC against Pakistan, alongside gaining the official #1 ranking... will next be at stake in England at the start of our season.

NZ hang onto the belt and take it into the WTC final with India.

If India win, they immediately defend it against England…

And they didn’t. NZ still hold the belt, and no further Tests scheduled until a possible meeting with Bangladesh in Dec/Jan.

Must have missed this series, or it wasn’t confirmed, when I commented in September. Anyway, India regain the lineal Test championship after beating NZ who had held it since March 2020.

Next scheduled Test action, Omicron permitting, is against Yarpland later this month.

South Africa are the current lineal champions after beating India then retaining it in a drawn series with New Zealand.

Bangladesh next for them then an easier assignment in England if they come through that. Should hold the belt for a while…

This is on the line at the Oval next week…

And England once again grab the hot potato!

Just checking where this is at, and it’s at stake in the Ashes (with a draw retaining it for England…)

Successful defences against Pakistan, NZ and Ireland mean the “belt” comes back to where it all started, while bypassing the official WTC final…

Not so much belt & braces, as belts and maces?