Status on 22 October 2026
- The 2025-27 cycle is in progress, with no winner. The two finalists will be decided by the World Test Championship table, as the ICC explains.
- The final is upcoming: The Oval, London, from Wednesday 9 to Sunday 13 June 2027, as the ICC confirmed on 23 July 2026.
- Holders: South Africa, who won the 2025 final at Lord's.
The 2027 final: The Oval, with one ICC article saying Lord's
The ICC's announcement of 23 July 2026 names The Oval and gives the dates as 9 to 13 June 2027. It adds that England holds the hosting rights for the 2027, 2029 and 2031 finals, and that the ECB picks the ground for each one.
One ICC article disagrees. An ICC "State of Play" piece on the 2025-27 standings, seen through a search summary, refers to the road to a 2027 final at Lord's. We follow the later, dated ICC announcement and treat The Oval as current, but both versions have appeared on the ICC's own site.
The 2025-27 table in July 2026
The ICC's 23 July 2026 article gave a mid-cycle picture: Australia leading on 87.50 per cent of the available points, South Africa second on 75 per cent, and nine teams still able to qualify. These are standings at that date, not a result. Our research did not collect the table after July 2026.
Series played since then include England's 3-0 home win over Pakistan in August and September 2026, which the ICC described as a World Test Championship series (12 September 2026). The South Africa v Australia series that began in October 2026 is still being played; it is covered on major Test series.
A rule change for this cycle. According to ICC news of 27 June 2025, the stop clock was extended to Test cricket from the start of the 2025-27 cycle: 60 seconds between overs, with two warnings and then a 5-run penalty for the third breach and each one after it in an innings, the warnings resetting after every 80 overs.
The 2025 final: South Africa at Lord's
South Africa beat Australia by five wickets at Lord's, finishing on the fourth day, for their first World Test Championship title (ICC media release, 14 June 2025).
| Team | First innings | Second innings |
|---|---|---|
| Australia | 212 | 207 |
| South Africa | 138 | 282 for 5 (83.4 overs) |
- Temba Bavuma captained South Africa. The ICC said the win ended a 27-year wait for an ICC trophy, the previous one being the 1998 Champions Trophy.
- Aiden Markram made 136 in the chase and was Player of the Match, and Kagiso Rabada took nine wickets in the match (ICC pages, through a search summary).
Australia had reached that final by winning the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy against India, according to the ICC.
The 2023 final: Australia at The Oval
Australia beat India by 209 runs at The Oval, London, bowling India out for 234 on the final day (ICC media release, 11 June 2023). India had been set 444, a target no side had ever chased in a Test (ICC news, through a search summary).
- Travis Head made 163 in the first innings and was Player of the Match; Steve Smith also scored a first-innings century.
- The ICC's release is dated 11 June 2023 and describes the last day. The start date of the match was not seen on an ICC page, so we give only the finish.
- The ICC said this win made Australia the only side to have won the men's Cricket World Cup, the Champions Trophy, the T20 World Cup and the World Test Championship, and that India had lost both World Test Championship finals played up to then (through a search summary).
Finals by year
| Cycle | Final | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 2021-23 | The Oval, London, June 2023 (ICC release dated 11 June 2023) | Australia beat India by 209 runs |
| 2023-25 | Lord's, London, June 2025 (ICC release dated 14 June 2025) | South Africa beat Australia by five wickets |
| 2025-27 | The Oval, London, 9 to 13 June 2027 (Lord's in one ICC article) | In progress; no winner |
The ICC's 2023 remark that India had lost "both" finals shows there was an earlier final before 2023. Its details are not in our research, so it is not in the table.
Rankings: the ICC's dated snapshot
The World Test Championship table and the ICC's Test rankings are different things. In the ICC's annual update of 11 May 2026, the men's Test ranking was led by Australia (131 rating points), South Africa (119) and India (104). The update counted matches since May 2025 in full and those from the two years before at half weight. Rankings move after every series.
How a Test is played under the Laws, including the follow-on and declarations, is on how a match works and extras, follow-on and results.
Sources
- ICC, Venue and dates for World Test Championship 2027 final revealed (23 July 2026)
- ICC, World Test Championship 2025-27: where do teams stand (State of Play, search summary)
- ICC, South Africa seal historic ICC World Test Championship triumph (14 June 2025)
- ICC, South Africa on brink of WTC25 final victory at Lord's (search summary)
- ICC, Australia crowned world Test champions after comprehensive win in the ultimate Test (11 June 2023)
- ICC, Australia crowned ICC World Test champions with win over India (2023, search summary)
- ICC, Australia secure World Test Championship final 2025 qualification with series win over India (headline)
- ICC, England seal convincing WTC series sweep over Pakistan (12 September 2026, search summary)
- ICC, Several changes made to ICC playing conditions (27 June 2025)
- ICC, Australia dominate in men's Test and women's ODI team rankings after annual update (11 May 2026)
- ICC, Qualification and format confirmed for cricket's return at the LA28 Olympic Games (29 June 2026)