New Zealand to host Bangladesh, South Africa in early 2022
New Zealand will be hosting Bangladesh for a two-Test series in January 2022. The series will start with the first Test at the Bay Oval, Tauranga. Post that, the two teams will move to Christchurch for the second Test match. Besides Bangladesh, South Africa will tour New Zealand as well. The two-Test series will be held in mid-February. Here are further details.
Why does it matter?
World Test Championship winners New Zealand, will be keen to start well in the new cycle of the format. They take on India this month away from home to start their journey. The two successive home series against Bangladesh and South Africa is massive. NZ have been a brilliant side at home and have dominated the scenes. They will be aiming for the maximum.
A look at the schedule
The first Test between New Zealand and Bangladesh start from January 1 onwards at the Bay Oval. The second Test will be held from January 9-13 at the Hagley Oval, Christchurch. Meanwhile, the first NZ-SA Test will be held from February 17-21 (Christchurch). The second Test will be played between February 25 to March 1 (Wellington).
WTC 2021-23: Presenting the schedule of New Zealand
In the ICC Test Championship 2021-23 cycle, the Kiwis are set to play 13 Test matches in total. The have six home matches and seven away. Besides hosting Bangladesh and South Africa, the Kane Williamson-led side will welcome Sri Lanka for two Tests in November-December 2022. Their away assignments are scheduled against India, England, and Pakistan.
Crucial changes in the WTC 2021-23 cycle
The ICC had made several crucial changes for the World Test Championship cycle between 2021-23. Each match of the WTC 2021-23 cycle will carry the same number of points, unlike the previous edition where each series had 120 points. Notably, the teams in WTC2 will be getting 12 points for a win, four for a draw, and six for a tie.
Points available per series
In a two-match series, the total points available will be 24. A three-match series will have 36 points, four will have 48, whereas, a five-Test series will have 60. In the first WTC cycle, the same number of points were allocated to each series, divided across the number of matches played.
