We break down the Test Championship and how it will be set up.

The World Test Championship will be played over a two-year cycle from 1 August 2019 to 31 March 2021. 

The final will be played at Lord’s in England on June 2021. 

71 Tests will be played over 27 series before the final. 

The next two-year cycle is scheduled from June 2021 to April 30, 2023. 

The top nine teams on the ICC Test rankings — Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka and the West Indies are part of the World Test Championship. 

Zimbabwe, Afghanistan and Ireland are not part of the tournament. 

Each team has picked six opponents by mutual agreement, within the existing framework of the Members rights agreement. So all teams will not play each other.

The points are divided according to the number of games played in a series. 

The championship begins with the Ashes series. The Proteas’ first series that forms part of the tournament is the one against India.