ICC World Test Championship 2025-27 Cycle: Preview Part 2 (The Underachievers)
ICC World Test Championship
In this article, we will be previewing the Nine Teams part of the next ICC World Test Championship Cycle starting next month. The Nine teams that has been part of the competition since it's inception include Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies. The other Test playing nations not part of this cycle are Afghanistan, Ireland and Zimbabwe.
Sri Lanka
Where they finished
Sri Lanka were in strong contention for the finals spot in the last two terms but faltered badly at the end against strong opponents. Their start to the WTC was not an impressive one as they won just 2 games and finished 7th. They played well throughout the second cycle but lost 2-0 in the away series to New Zealand. Sri Lanka were again on a similar track until they lost all of their last four games to wound up at 6th spot.
The pattern Sri Lanka has followed is very similar, easy wins at home and away against weaker opponents only to lay down arms in front of stronger teams both home and away. Their wins outside Asia only includes a counter-attacking masterclass at Oval which is something they definitely need to improve in order to reach the top two spot.
They are also dealing with the incumbent retirements of Dimuth Karunaratne and Angelo Mathews (retiring after the 1st Test against Ban), two of their top four run scorers in WTC. Another issue which is hurting them is to find a spin partner Prabhat Jayasuriya especially on Asian pitches. They have already used 13 proper spinners in WTC (the most by any team) but they are still on the lookout for a second spinner to compliment Jayasuriya.
Best performers
Highest Run scorer: Dimuth Karunaratne (2642 runs 40.64 Ave 6 centuries 244 HS)
Highest wicket taker: Prabhat Jayasuriya (91 wickets 32.37 Ave 8 5-fers 6/42 Best)
Players to watch out for
Captain DDS will have big shoes to fill with the Sri Lankan batting facing a shortage of 218 Tests of experience after Dimuth and Angelo have decided to move on. Who'll partner Pathum Nissanka at the top? Oshada Fernando? Nishan Madhusdka? or maybe Lahiru Udara? Middle order looks stacked with Chandimal at 3, Kamindu Mendis should replace Mathews at 4, DDS and Kusal Mendis as the primary wicketkeeper. Kamindu has had a dream run in test cricket so far scoring 1184 runs at 64.38 and his performances should be vital for them to aim big this time.
Asitha Fernando is their frontline pacer often being the only pacer in home tests. Vishwa Fernando, Lahiru Kumara and the recently debuted bowling all-rounder Milan Rathnayake will have more of a role on pacer-friendly wickets. Isitha Wijesundara has performed exceptionally on their A tours and could make his way to the national team soon.
Prabhat Jayasuriya is locked in as their frontline spinner but the other spinners have struggled to make an impact. Ramesh Mendis has played the second most matches but has consistently struggled to control runs from the other end as well as taking crucial wickets. With the bat he doesn't have a single 50 which is shocking given his domestic number include a batting average of 41+ and a highest of 300* and 304 wickets at an average of almost 30. Nishan Peiris is still new to International cricket while Lasith Embuldeniya and Praveen Jayawickrama have disappeared into oblivion. There are many spinners making waves in domestic, some with good batting skills as well. It's just a matter of identifying the right fit.
Journey for next cycle
Sri Lanka will again be playing only two-match series just like the first two WTCs. They will inaugurate this cycle by hosting Bangladesh after which they do not play any red-ball matches until June 2026 in West Indies. These long breaks in scheduling has often been criticized by their red ball players as this robs them off consistency to perform and deliver. They'll host India that August and travel to Pakistan in November followed by another away series in NZ early 2027. Sri Lanka completes this cycle by hosting South Africa in March 2027. This will be the first time both India and South Africa are visiting the island nation as part of WTC.
England
Where they finished
Cycle 1: 4th Place (P20 W11 L7 D3)
Cycle 2: 4th Place (P22 W10 L8 D4)
Cycle 3: 5th Place (P22 W11 L10 D1)
England was deducted 12 points in WTC 2 and 22 in WTC 3 for slow overrate offences which affected their final standing by a huge margin. Not that it would have helped them made the final but as a team which is playing the most Tests each year, they have not threatened the top two finish even once. Even though there is not doubt that playing red ball cricket is England's priority but a WTC win has never been mentioned as something this Bazball team is looking to achieve.
With the arrival of Brendon Mccullum as their head coach in mid 2022 and the appointment of Ben Stokes as captain, this English team has played only one drawn match that too because of rain. They are currently rewriting the traditional way of playing Test match cricket and have been very effective for most parts of it but finished in the middle of the standings every time.
England need to regroup and chalk out a strategy which enables them to go top of the table this time around. It is not going to easy with a 5 match series against India at home and an Ashes down-under in the next 7 months. An early exit is looming until this new Bazball approach can revitalize their campaign Downunder (they haven't won a single test in Australia since 2011).
Best performers
Highest Run scorer: Joe Root (5543 runs 51.80 Ave 18 centuries 262 HS)
Highest wicket taker: Stuart Broad (134 wickets 24.09 Ave 3 5-fers 6/31 Best)
Players to watch out for
Joe Root, the highest run scorer in WTC is playing at his peak right now in red ball cricket. He scored 7 centuries in the last cycle alone. His performance in Australia, the only country he hasn't scored a century in will be one to watch out for this time. Ben Stokes will continue to do Ben Stokes things. The batting is largely settled with only Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope facing some pressure given that they have looked out of place many a times in red ball cricket. Jacob Bethell has the public backing of coach and captain after his impressive start in New Zealand last year. Jordan Cox is another member waiting for his opportunity after call-up twice and injuring himself both times.
The top two wicket-takers Stuart Broad and James Anderson have both retired now. England has been able to built a large group of fast bowlers although they have been plagued by injuries more often than not. Speedsters like Mark Wood, Olly Stone, Josh Tongue, Jofra Archer (still in their red ball plans?) have spent a lot of time off the bench with three of them still injured and Tongue has just made his comeback from a long layoff. There are hit the deck bowlers like Gus Atkinson (who had a terrific debut season) and Brydon Carse, swing bowlers like Matthew Potts, Chris Woakes and Sam Cook being the latest entrant.
Shoaib Bashir will lead the spin bowling contingent often playing the lone spinner role when required. Jack Leach (who has fallen down the pecking order) and Rehan Ahmed play only in spin friendly bowling conditions.
With the bowling options covered, England needs to explore more batting options given the amount of red ball cricket they play. There many great performers in the county circuit but the problem with this Bazball led side is sidelining those performances and selecting players just on promise. Their England Lions selections doesn't give a solid picture of the next gen although Tom Haines and James Rew (as a back-up wicket-keeper) are good options. Haines has also piled up huge runs in County this season as an opener while Ed Barnard has emerged as a very good Seam bowling all-round option for the past few years. Haseeb Hameed again and Paul Walter have also been in good form with Hameed leading the run scoring charts so far*.
Journey for next cycle
England hosted Zimbabwe before the start of this WTC for a one-off Test which they won in typical Bazball fashion. Player of the match Shoaib Bashir picked up 9/143. India will now travel to the English shores for a five match series next month and then the Ashes takes place at the end of this year. They host New Zealand and Pakistan next home season for a three match series each. South Africa tour will be next at the end of 2026, another three match series and they will complete their journey in Bangladesh whom they will play twice.
New Zealand
Where they finished
Cycle 1: Winners (P12 W8 L4)
Cycle 2: 6th Place (P13 W4 L6 D3)
Cycle 3: 4th Place (P14 W7 L7)
Winners in 2021, 6th in 2023 and 4th in 2025. NZ has had a very up and down journey in the WTC so far. Some critics say they were lucky to be in the final of the first WTC as they qualified by winning only 1 away game. In fact New Zealand was the last team in WTC to win an away series 3-0 against India last year. But they deservedly won the first WTC final in England in a one-sided affair at Southampton against India, the top ranked team in the first stretch.
However, they never lived up to the defending champions tag after a poor finish in the next duration losing more Tests than they won. The last cycle was also a hit and miss as they won 7 and lost 7 games with a very easy schedule. The real disappointment was losing at home to both Australia and especially England after a remarkable win in the sub-continent.
Best performers
Highest Run scorer: Kane Williamson (2822 runs 61.34 Ave 11 centuries 251 HS)
Highest wicket taker: Tim Southee (127 wickets 30.53 Ave 6 5-fers 5/32 Best)
Players to watch out for
Kane Williamson has missed a number of crucial matches after the first WTC for various reasons. After opting out of the central contact last year, it will be keen to see how many red ball appearances he will make in the upcoming matches. Tom Latham will continue to lead the side although it will be interesting to see if he partners with Devon Conway who hasn't scored a century since Jan 2023 or Will Young, Player of the series on India tour going forward. There is no change needed in the middle order but they will need Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell and Tom Blundell to put in the hard yards. Glenn Phillips should continue at 7 with his improving off-spin skill often allowing New Zealand to play him as a sole spinner.
How will the fast bowling cope up with the retirement of Tim Southee? Southee made the second most WTC appearances for his team but his form at the end suffered a decline as he averaged more than 50 in his last 13 Tests. New Zealand have very good options in the ever consistent Matt Henry, injury-prone but effective Kyle Jamieson, 6'6 ft tall William O'Rourke, quick Ben Sears and a potential all-round option in Nathan Smith. They can also try Scott Kuggleleijn, Jacob Duffy and a left arm option in Ben Lister.
With Glenn Phillips often playing as the sole spinner, there aren't many spinning options available for New Zealand. Ajaz Patel is only considered for Asian tours with both Phillips' and Mitchell Santner's batting often trumping Patel out on non-spinning tracks. Jayden Lennox can be tried as a defensive left arm option while leg-spinner Aditya Ashok and all-rounder Dean Foxcroft are others performing regularly for domestic and NZ A sides.
Nick Kelly and Rhys Mariu are two names making waves in the domestic circuit while Mitchell Hay and Dane Cleaver can put pressure on Blundell for the wicketkeeper spot. The exciting 23-year old Bevon Jacobs has started his First Class career with a bang. Brett Hampton and Josh Clarkson are two exciting fast bowling all-rounders who can play a Colin de Grandhomme type-role.
Journey for next cycle
New Zealand will be playing a four match Tests series for the first time since 1999 against Australia. They will start the preparations with two Tests against Zimbabwe in July-August (not part of WTC). They will host West Indies for a three match rubber in Nov 2025 after which they will have a long wait till they travel to England for another three match series in June 2026. They will host India for two matches and then travel to Australia in 2026 December. Next is a home assignment against Sri Lanka and finally an away tour to Pakistan, both series two matches long.
* At the time of this article, 7 matches have been completed in the County Championship 2025.
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