The final of the 2023-2025 ICC World Test Championship started on the 11th of June 2025, with South Africa meeting Australia at Lord’s. The Oval was the host venue for the previous edition of this relatively new championship, with Southampton’s Rose Bowl used in 2021 due to the pandemic at the time, and the ground’s better suitability for maintaining a bubble (remember those?!).
Lord’s was supposed to host that final, the inaugural edition, but the Rose Bowl’s onsite hotel made it a better choice at the time. However, the home of cricket will once again be used for the final in the next edition of this contest, scheduled to take place in the summer of 2027. However, whilst England has been the host in the past, present and will be in the future, have they ever managed to win the trophy on home soil?
Short Answer: No
England have not been the top-ranked team according to the ICC Test rankings for many years now. They spent 12 months at the top from August 2011 onwards, but since August 2012 it has been other nations ranked number one. Since England last topped the ICC charts a number of nations have held the honour, with South Africa, Australia, India, Pakistan and New Zealand all spending time as the ICC top dog.
Most of those nations enjoyed multiple spells at number one, with India having had seven separate periods there. India have also enjoyed the longest spell at the top, staying there for 43 months unbroken between October 2016 and May 2020. That said, being the ICC’s number one is different to having won the World Test Championship, with the former often requiring a longer period of sustained excellence.
The World Test Championship operates on a two-year cycle, so is arguably easier to win. That said, the fact that so many other teams have been ranked number one since England last were is indicative of the fact that the World Test Championship hosts have lagged behind a number of their rivals over the past 15 years or so, and certainly during the era since the ICC’s new championship was conceived.
So, as the title of this section states, no, England have not won the ICC World Test Championship. 2027 will offer them their next chance to do so, though the schedule for that suggests they will really have to raise their game if they are to qualify.
England Test Schedule for 2025-2027 Championship
Like all the nations involved, England will play six series in the next Championship, three at home and three away. However, only Australia (22) will play more than the 21 Tests that they will face. The series can be seen below, and they will have to do well in the two big five-Test series if they are to stand a chance of making it to Lord’s for the final in June 2027.
- Home Tests – India (5), NZ (3), Pakistan (3)
- Away Tests – Australia (5), South Africa (3), Bangladesh (2)
Have England Even Made It to the Final Before?
Again, there is a short answer here and again it is no. Including the current contest taking place at Lord’s, there have been three finals and six finalists but the “home” nation has never been involved. India finished runners-up in both 2021 and 2023, losing to New Zealand and Australia respectively. India missed out in 2025, with South Africa making their debut in the showpiece and the Aussies back to defend their crown.
Australia have topped the ICC Test rankings since May 2024 and were also top in February and March (India being number one for April). The Aussies also spent 16 months at the top from the start of 2022 onwards, so it is hard to argue that they do not deserve to be back in the final to defend their World Test Championship.
Heading into the current final England are actually ranked second, sandwiched by Australia at the top and South Africa, who are third. Love it or loathe it, the Bazball revolution seems to be getting results and England are clearly not all that far away from being a very good side. India have faced some big retirements from their Test party and so if England can beat India at home this summer, they will get their 2025-2027 cycle off to a great start. Maybe 2027 is the year they can at least make it to Lord’s?
Previous Finals
The first World Test Championship decider took place in June 2021 at the Rose Bowl and the Kiwis beat India by eight wickets in the end. It was a low-scoring clash and the reserve day was used after the weather prevented play on the first and fourth scheduled days. India were dismissed for 217, NZ replying with 249. In the third innings of the match India were bowled out for just 170 runs and the Kiwis chased down a modest score for the loss of just two wickets to claim the first-ever World Test Championship.
Two years on from that, at the Oval, India again made it to the big game and once more faced antipodean opposition, this time Australia. India won the toss and fielded but a rapid 163 (174 balls) from Travis Head made them pay as Australia racked up 469. The Aussies then dismissed India for 296 before declaring on 270/8. India never really looked like chasing down the 443 they needed and were bowled out for just 234.
The 2025 final at Lord’s sees Australia and South Africa battle it out, the former bidding to become the first nation to defend the championship and also to win it more than once.
How Close Have England Come?
Sticking to our theme of short answers, the hosts of this newish evet have never come especially close to qualifying to play in the final. In the first tournament they finished fourth, with Australia quite comfortably ahead of them in third. They won 11 of their 21 Tests but seven defeats cost them.
In the following cycle they again finished fourth but were even further adrift of the leading sides. In 2021-2023 SA finished third but England won just 10 out of 22 games, losing eight times and were closer to seventh place than second.
In the most recent contest England have slipped even further, finishing fifth of the nine teams. They won half of their 22 games but lost almost as many – 10 – to finish behind the two finalists, plus India and NZ. In terms of the percentage of available points they won, the key ranking determinant, they were far closer to last than a place in the final. That said, they were penalised a massive 22 points, equivalent to almost four wins, for slow over rates in five Tests.