ICC World Test Championship points table (updated) as on December 17 after NZ vs ENG 2024 Test series
New Zealand avoided a whitewash and finished their World Test Championship (WTC) cycle in style after defeating England by 423 runs in the third and final Test at Seddon Park in Hamilton. The Blackcaps delivered a memorable farewell for veteran Tim Southee with the win.
The win has improved New Zealand's win percentage from 44.23 to 48.21 after 14 matches, as they claimed the fourth spot. They were in contention for the final after the historic 3-0 whitewash against India in the subcontinent, but losing the first two Tests to England at home did irreparable damage.
It remains to be seen whether New Zealand can finish as the fourth-ranked team in the cycle. It will depend on how the fifth-placed Sri Lanka fare in the home series against Australia in early 2025. If the island nation wins the series 2-0, they will have a win percentage of 53.8, while a 1-0 series win would result in the figure reading 46.1. Thus Sri Lanka will need to whitewash the defending champions to finish above New Zealand and seize the fourth spot in the standings.
As far as England are concerned, the recent defeat ended their WTC campaign as well. Ben Stokes and company had an opportunity to move into the fourth spot by completing the whitewash. However, with the mammoth defeat and the slow over-rate deduction, they have dropped down to the sixth position on the table. Their win percentage has dropped down to 42.13 from 45.14.
England docked 22 points in the current WTC cycle
England have the most wins in the current cycle. The team won half of their 22 matches played, but their win percentage took a serious hit after they were docked a total of 22 points for slow over-rate. They lost 19 points in the five-match Ashes series in 2023 before losing three more points for the same offense in the first Test against New Zealand recently.
Without the points deduction, England would have had a winning percentage of 51.5, taking them into fourth place instead of sixth in the standings. Despite winning three series and drawing one, they are not even in the race for the final.
Their dismal performances in the subcontinent, which included defeats to India and Pakistan, have proved costly. They won only two out of the eight Tests in these series, squandering the series lead on both occasions.