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Pat Cummins-led Australian men’s cricket team, which won the 2023 World Test Championship final, is just a win away from qualifying for the WTC 2025 final.
How Australia can qualify for WTC 2025 final
Defending champions Australia is in pole position to qualify for the World Test Championship (WTC) final, which is scheduled to take place at Lord’s from June 11 to 15 next year. At present (December 31, 2024), the Baggy Greens sit at the No. 2 position in the WTC 2023-25 points table with a PCT% of 61.46. Australia, which is set to play three more matches in the ongoing cycle, will guarantee themselves a place in the WTC 2025 final against South Africa if they manage to win at least one of the remaining three matches.
Australia will face India in the fifth and final Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Sydney from January 3-7, 2025, and then travel to Sri Lanka for a two-match Test series. Both the red-ball matches between Sri Lanka and Australia are set to take place at Galle International Stadium.
If the India-Australia Sydney Test ends in a draw, Rohit Sharma’s side will get knocked out, and Australia will then only need to avoid a whitewash in Sri Lanka. If they manage to do so, then the Pat Cummins-led side will end the WTC 2023-25 cycle with a minimum of 55.26 PCT% and Sri Lanka can’t finish with more than 48.72 PCT% and India with a maximum of 51.75 PCT%.
But if Australia lose all three matches, then India will finish above them and qualify for the WTC final for the third season in a row. If the India-Australia Sydney Test ends in a draw and then Sri Lanka whitewashes Australia in a two-match Test series at home, then Sri Lanka will finish above both India and Australia in the WTC 2023-25 points table and qualify for the final for the first time in history.
South Africa has already qualified for the WTC 2025 final. The Proteas booked a place in the final on Sunday, December 29, by getting the better of Pakistan by two wickets in the Boxing Day Test played at SuperSport Park in Centurion.
South Africa will guarantee themselves a top place finish in the WTC 2023-25 cycle if they win in the second Test against Pakistan as well. The second Test of the ongoing two-match series between the two teams is scheduled to take place at Newlands in Cape Town from January 3-7, 2025.
Australia will finish as table toppers if they win all three remaining matches and South Africa fails to win the Cape Town Test.
