Proteas firmly on track for first World Test Championship final

South Africa have an excellent opportunity of reaching the final of the World Test Championship (WTC) for the first time.

The Proteas’ dominant display in Bangladesh, where they won the first Test by seven wickets and sat comfortably on 307 for two after the first day of the second Test, means they have an excellent chance of reaching the final next June.

Other results have played in South Africa’s favour too.

New Zealand’s two punishing — by 133 runs and eight wickets — victories over India over the past two weeks have left the two-time WTC finalists with their work cut out for them to make the final again.

They play the Black Caps in one more Test in Mumbai to conclude the series before they head Down Under to play Australia in a five-match series.

New Zealand, the winners of the first WTC in 2021, have a slim chance of making the final, but will need to beat India in the final match of the ongoing series before whitewashing England 3-0 at home in a three-match series starting at the end of November.

Pakistan’s 2-1 home series win over England ruled the latter out of contesting the final for the first time.

Reigning champions Australia are firm favourites to seal a second consecutive appearance in the WTC final. They’re currently in second place on the table, marginally behind India. Five wins out of their final seven matches will be enough to secure their spot.

How the WTC table stands at the moment

Two home series

The Proteas have won only three out of seven WTC matches but are still firmly in control of their own destiny.

South Africa’s final two series are at home — two matches each against Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

Sri Lanka, in third place on the WTC table, two spots above South Africa, are also in with a chance of reaching the final but will need to claim at least one victory in South Africa as well as sweeping Australia at home at the start of next year.

If South Africa win all of their remaining matches they will qualify for the WTC final, finishing on 69.44%. India and Australia are the only teams that can pass that mark but their series against each other means only one of them can do it.

If South Africa claim a series clean sweep against Sri Lanka at home, that will destroy any hope the island nation has of reaching the WTC final.

“I don’t think it really adds pressure for us,” said Proteas’ stand-in skipper Aiden Markram. “It’s an exciting opportunity. That’s how we’re trying to view it. We still have to win our remaining games of cricket and we have five left until we know our fate.

“We’ll take it session by session, game by game, where we have to give ourselves a good chance, but we’re excited about what possibly could be, moving forward.

“It’s gotten the boys fizzed about the idea.”

How it works 

England play 22 matches in the current WTC cycle, compared to South Africa’s 12.

However, this doesn’t affect South Africa’s chances of reaching the final.

While each team plays the same number of series in a WTC cycle (six), they each play a different number of matches in those series. The percentage of points won is used to calculate who will play in the WTC final.

Each match in the WTC is worth 12 points. A victory equals 12 points and 100% of the points on offer. A rare tie is worth six points and 50% while a draw is worth four points and 33.3%.

This cycle’s WTC final will take place at Lord’s in England starting on 11 June. DM