South Africa's recent triumph over Australia in the World Test Championship (WTC) final at Lord's has been lauded as a historic moment, ending a 27-year wait for a major ICC title. Aiden Markram's century and Kagiso Rabada's nine wickets in the match were instrumental in the Proteas' victory. However, even in the glow of this achievement, former South Africa captain AB de Villiers has voiced concerns about the current WTC format, suggesting that changes are necessary to ensure fairness and consistency for all Test-playing nations.
De Villiers's comments come as the new 2025-2027 WTC cycle begins, barely days after South Africa's victory. He believes that despite some improvements in the upcoming cycle's schedule, there is still work to be done. One of his primary suggestions is to extend the WTC cycle to four years. This, he argues, would allow for a more comprehensive competition structure where all participating nations have the opportunity to play against each other. De Villiers highlighted the disparity in the number of matches played by different teams in the previous cycle, with some teams playing significantly more games than others. He feels a four-year cycle would provide organizers with more time to create a fairer and more balanced system.
The current two-year cycle has faced criticism, particularly regarding the fairness of the points system and scheduling. Some argue that the qualification paths for teams can vary significantly, with disparities in the number of matches played and the strength of opposition faced. De Villiers echoed these concerns, emphasizing the importance of ensuring that every Test-playing nation has a fair chance to compete and reach the final.
De Villiers stated, "You want to get to that final feeling like you've played against all these nations. Maybe a four-year cycle would be nice. We've done that in the past with one-day internationals, so why not in Test cricket? It would make sense and it would give the organisers just so much more time to get a really fair, well-balanced system out there."
De Villiers also addressed the issue of South Africa's Test schedule, noting that they are scheduled to play only four Test matches in the next 16 months, with some of those matches not even counting towards the WTC cycle. He emphasized the importance of regular Test matches for all nations to maintain competitiveness and fan engagement. He noted that the Proteas will not play a home Test match until October 2026.
Despite his concerns, De Villiers is confident that South Africa's WTC victory will have a lasting impact on cricket in the country. He believes it will instill a winning mentality in the team and inspire fans. He acknowledged the team had some very disappointing and sad ends to a lot of campaigns, especially the World Cups, but now it's time to start believing that we can do this more often.
