After a historic 3-0 cleansweep on Indian soil, Tom Latham-led New Zealand suffered a comprehensive eight-wicket defeat against England at Hagley Oval, Christchurch on December 1. The loss dented their hopes of reaching the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 final.
New Zealand remained fourth on WTC points table but their win percentage dropped to 50. This is their sixth loss from 12 games. Earlier, a cleansweep against England at home would have meant they finished with a win percentage of 64.21. Now, even if they win the remaining two Tests, the maximum they can reach is 57.14 per cent.
If New Zealand manage to win the series 2-1 against Ben Stokes' England, they will still need favours from other side to make it to their second WTC final.
On the other hand, England retained their sixth place in the points table with 10th win from 20 games. England don't have a chance of qualifying for their maiden WTC final. Currently, they have a win percentage of 43.75.
Earlier, on November 30, South Africa beat Sri Lanka 233 runs at Kinsmead, Durban to climb to the second spot surpassing reigning champions Australia. South Africa have a win percentage of 59.26 with five wins from nine Tests. Sri Lanka have a win percentage of 50 with five wins from 10 games.
| Rank | Teams | Matches | Wins | Losses | Draw | Points | PCT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | India | 15 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 110 | 61.11 |
| 2. | South Africa | 9 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 64 | 59.25 |
| 3. | Australia | 13 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 90 | 55.56 |
| 4. | New Zealand | 12 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 72 | 50.00 |
| 5. | Sri Lanka | 10 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 60 | 50.00 |
| 6. | England | 20 | 10 | 9 | 1 | 93 | 43.75 |
| 7. | Pakistan | 10 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 40 | 33.33 |
| 8. | Bangladesh | 10 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 33 | 27.50 |
| 9. | West Indies | 9 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 20 | 18.52 |
There are plenty of changes is expected in the coming few weeks as South Africa lock horns with Sri Lanka in the second and final Test of the series starting December 5. On December 6, the table-toppers India take on Australia at Adelaide Oval in the pink-ball Test. On the same day, New Zealand will go up against England in Wellington.
