ICC board expected to keep World Test Championship at nine teams until 2031

The World Test Championship (WTC) is expected to stay at nine teams for the 2027-29 and 2029-31 cycles, with the International Cricket Council (ICC) board due to meet in Bali on Sunday. Cricinfo reported that the board is expected to endorse the ICC's recommendation to keep the current structure, and the claim was carried by ANI and The News Mill.

The competition is nearing the end of its fourth cycle. Its format has been widely debated, including a proposal for a two-tier league system.

A push to include all 12 Full Members

Over the past year, momentum has built behind a plan to put all 12 Full Members into a single division. It was put forward by an ICC working group led by former New Zealand batter Roger Twose. Zimbabwe, Ireland and Afghanistan, the three Full Members currently outside the competition, have strongly supported it.

Several ICC members, however, question whether expansion would add commercial value. The WTC is largely arranged through bilateral agreements between member boards, and the ICC is responsible only for the final. The governing body appears inclined to keep the existing structure for now.

Chief executives weigh in

The Chief Executives' Committee met for more than four hours on Saturday. Representatives of the three excluded nations argued that being left out of the WTC is holding back their Test programmes.

They also raised the lack of promotion and relegation, which they said leaves no clear route into the top nine.

Cricket South Africa is understood to back expansion, with chief executive Pholetsi Moseki reportedly making a strong case in the committee meeting. The positions of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and Cricket Australia remain unclear.

England's reservations

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is understood to have reservations about expansion, citing possible travel and financial implications. This is despite England having played one-off Tests against Zimbabwe and Ireland in recent years.

The ECB and Zimbabwe Cricket are also finalising arrangements for an England tour of Zimbabwe, which would be England's first visit there in 30 years. The tour, originally planned for 2028, has been postponed to 2030 and is expected to include a Test match.

Nothing is final until the board meets on Sunday.

Should the WTC stay at nine teams, or is it time to include all 12 Full Members? Tell us in the comments.