Test CricketIn February 2001 ICC member countries approved the introduction of a formal future programme of Test cricket for the first time, committing to a detailed fixture schedule for the next 10 years.
The advantages of a firm programme are regular series between all Test nations, on a five-year cycle of home and away fixtures. Traditional series such as the Ashes between England and Australia will, however, remain as four yearly events.
Newer countries such as Bangladesh and Zimbabwe will benefit from regular fixtures against the strongest opposition, allowing them to develop more rapidly in the highly competitive world of Test cricket.
The exact detail of series, such as number of matches and order of fixtures, will remain the subject of agreement between competing countries. Test series must however comprise a minimum of two games.
There are significant planning and marketing advantages to the new scheme, which provides countries with the opportunity for long-term development and negotiation of commercial agreements.
After more than 120 years and 1,500 matches, Test cricket entered a new era with the official launch of the ICC Test Championship. The table is updated at the conclusion of every Test Series
After every Test Match, the two teams each receive a certain number of points, based on a mathematical formula. Each team's new points total is then divided by its new match/series total to give an updated rating.
With batting averages, if you are dismissed in your next innings for more than your average, your average will increase. Conversely, scoring less than your average will cause it to fall. Similarly, under the ICC Test Championship method, the points awarded for a win will always be more than the rating the team had at the start of the match. Equivalently, a team losing a Test Match will always score fewer points than it's rating. So a win will always boost a team's rating and a defeat will harm it.
A draw between a higher and lower rated team will slightly benefit the rating of the lower rated team at the expense of the higher rated team. A draw between two similarly rated teams will leave both their ratings unchanged. A tied match is treated the same as a draw for rating purposes.
A team that over the period being rated wins as often as it loses while playing an average mix of strong and weak opponents will have a rating of close to 100.
A rating of 100 could also correspond to a side that wins more often than it loses but who has generally played more matches against weak teams. Similarly, if the majority of its matches are against strong teams, then a rating of 100 could be achieved despite having more defeats than victories.
