ICC confirms new WTC points system: 12 for win, 4 for draw, 6 for tie
Dubai: The ICC on Wednesday officially confirmed that teams will be awarded standardised 12 points for a win, four for a draw and six for a tie during the second World Test Championship cycle which kicks off with the five-match series between India and England in August.
The ICC further said that percentage of points won will be used to determine standings in the 2021-23 cycle.
Earlier, each Test series carried a value of 120 points which led to certain inequality in the table as a team winning a Test in a two-match series got 60 points compared to five-game series where a Test win is valued at 24 points.
PTI had last month reported that ICC was set to introduce the new standardised points system for the second WTC cycle soon.
ICC Acting Chief Executive Geoff Allardice said the changes were made to simplify the points system while taking learnings from the disruption last year.
"We received feedback that the previous points system needed to be simplified. The Cricket Committee took this into consideration when proposing a new, standardized points system for each match. It maintained the principle of ensuring that all matches in a WTC series count towards a team's standing, while accommodating series varying in length between two Tests and five Tests," Allardice said in an ICC statement.
"During the pandemic we had to change to ranking teams on the points table using the percentage of available points won by each team, since all series could not be completed.
"This helped us determine the finalists and we were able to complete the championship within the scheduled time frame. This method also allowed us to compare the relative performance of teams at any time, regardless of how many matches they had played."
Apart from the India-England series, the Ashes later this year will be the only other five-match affair in the second cycle which will end in June 2023.
Australia's tour of India next year is the only four-Test series in the upcoming cycle.
The nine Test teams will play a total of six series -- three home and three away just like the previous edition.
India captain Virat Kohli said after losing the inaugural WTC final to New Zealand, he expects his side to regroup with "new energy" in the new cycle, which begins with the first Test against England starting August 4.
"It was great to have played the final of the ICC World Test Championship against New Zealand in what was a memorable contest. Not just the final, we saw the determination of players throughout the first edition of the championship," Kohli said.
"The following of cricket lovers too was great to see, and I am sure they will all be waiting eagerly for the second edition. We will regroup with new energy for the next cycle starting with our series against England."
Reigning champion New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson said WTC has revived people's interest in the traditional format of the game.
"It was obviously pretty special to win the inaugural ICC World Test Championship in Southampton last month and it's exciting to now look ahead to the second edition.
"The WTC has certainly added more context and brought new meaning to Test cricket and it was awesome to see the interest that was generated around the Final against India," he said.
"We know trying to defend the title will be a huge challenge, but our focus will be on making sure we prepare as well as we can for the tours ahead and trying to maintain our level of performance."
England captain Joe Root describes the upcoming five-Test duel against India as an "interesting challenge".
"We start our campaign in the second edition of the ICC World Test Championship against the finalists of last time, which is an interesting challenge straight away," he said.
"India are a fine all-round side and it would be good to test them in our home conditions. We narrowly missed out on qualifying for the final last time and are looking to do better this time.
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Kejriwal discharge a blow to Centre's falsehoods, says Oppn; people's verdict already out: BJP
New Delhi (PTI): The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) celebrated former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and his then deputy Manish Sisodia's discharge in the excise policy case on Friday, describing it as a vindication of constitutional values, while the BJP said the people had already given a political response on the issue.
Opposition parties said in unison that the development was a blow to the Centre's falsehoods and misuse of investigating agencies, though the Congress termed the BJP and the AAP as convenient allies.
An emotional Kejriwal broke down after the verdict and said the case against him was the "biggest political conspiracy".
"The court has proved that Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and AAP are 'kattar imaandar (honest to the core)'," he said. Sisodia said the ruling reaffirmed the public's faith in the Constitution.
The Trinamool Congress, RJD, Samajwadi Party and Left parties welcomed the verdict and said its exposed the BJP's politics of vendetta. The Congress, however, said Kejriwal's discharge was a "predictable script".
"The BJP is not a political party. It is a shape-shifter, a wishful serpent - 'Icchadhari Naag'. It will stoop to any level for one obsessive goal: defeat Congress - 'Congress Mukt Bharat'," Congress media and publicity cell head Pawan Khera said.
"For 12 years, they spewed venom at the TMC. And now? Narendra Modi himself is showering it with praise -- not out of respect, but to land a cheap blow at the Congress," Khera said in a post in Hindi on X.
"Elections are coming. So the script is predictable. Cases against Congress leaders will suddenly accelerate -- P Chidambaram has already been dragged back into the spotlight because Tamil Nadu is going to the polls. Meanwhile, proceedings against their convenient allies in the AAP and others will quietly vanish in light of the Gujarat and Punjab elections," the Congress leader said.
Congress MP Manish Tewari and party veteran Margaret Alva, however, congratulated Kejriwal on his discharge in the case and slammed the BJP's "politics of vendetta".
The BJP, on its part, said though Kejriwal was discharged for "lack of evidence", the probe agency would decide its next course of action.
BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said it was a "technical matter" and the party would come up with a "structured response" on the court's judgment after studying it.
"The people of Delhi have given him (Kejriwal) a political response on political grounds. The agency concerned will decide its next course of action on technical grounds," the Rajya Sabha MP said at a press conference at the BJP headquarters.
AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh alleged the case was part of a conspiracy to defame the party leadership and referred to the period of incarceration faced by several leaders. Former chief minister Atishi said the verdict showed how false allegations were made to target AAP leaders.
Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann said, "Truth always triumphs."
Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav said the collapse of the excise policy case was a "moral death sentence" for the BJP as it had betrayed the people of Delhi.
"Today, every honest person will breathe a sigh of relief, while the BJP supporters must be writhing in deep shame," Yadav said.
RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav welcomed the court order and demanded that fresh elections be held in the national capital.
"False lawsuits are being filed against opposition leaders. Arvind Kejriwal has suffered a lot due to this (case). We demand that elections be held again in Delhi," Yadav told reporters in Patna.
"It's a very good judgment. It shows that we still have hope in the judicial system. BJP leaders should apologise to the nation for continuously targeting opposition leaders," CPI-M general secretary MA Baby said.
CPI general secretary D Raja said the verdict proved that the BJP reduced federal probe agencies to "instruments of political vendetta".
"When investigative institutions are twisted into political weapons, it is not just individuals who are targeted, it is democracy itself that is put on trial. The country deserves accountability for this abuse of power," he said.
TMC MP Saket Gokhale alleged that the case was "politically motivated" and aimed at "defaming" opposition leaders.
"A fake fabricated case was filed by the BJP to defame opposition leaders who were arrested and mistreated in order to break their will and tarnish their reputation. Yet again, BJP's shameless tactic of using CBI and ED as their political tools stands exposed. The Modi-Shah Government will soon fall apart just like these fake cases," Gokhale posted on X.
Social activist and Kejriwal's former mentor, Anna Hazare said the verdict must be accepted as the judiciary was supreme. The anti-corruption campaigner advised Kejriwal to work for the society and the country and not think of himself or his party.
