Updated in October
World Test Championship finals have quickly become Test cricket’s thunderclap moments—where slow-burn series decant into one gladiatorial match that decides a cycle’s worth of effort. What began as an experiment to bring a title to the oldest format has turned into a gripping, high‑stakes event. The list of winners is still short enough to remember by heart, yet rich enough to study. New Zealand claimed the first crown, Australia followed with a ruthless statement, and another showpiece at Lord’s is looming. This is the authoritative world test championship winners list you came for—an expert’s read on champions, runners-up, venues, scorelines, captains, the toss, umpires, prize money, and the key passages that truly decided each final.
This page is maintained with match facts checked against ICC releases and ESPNcricinfo scorecards and will be updated promptly after official announcements and the next final.
Quick WTC Winners List (Finals-only, cycle-wise)
Below is a finals-only snapshot covering champion, runner-up, margin, venue, Player of the Match, and captains. If you’re revising for an exam or need a definitive wtc winners list with captains and venues, this table nails it.
Cycle: Inaugural Final
- Winner: New Zealand
- Runner-up: India
- Margin: By eight wickets
- Venue: The Rose Bowl, Southampton
- Player of the Match: Kyle Jamieson
- Winning Captain: Kane Williamson
- Opposing Captain: Virat Kohli
Cycle: Second Final
- Winner: Australia
- Runner-up: India
- Margin: By two hundred nine runs
- Venue: The Oval, London
- Player of the Match: Travis Head
- Winning Captain: Pat Cummins
- Opposing Captain: Rohit Sharma
Cycle: Current Cycle (Final scheduled)
- Winner: To be decided
- Runner-up: To be decided
- Margin: To be decided
- Venue: Expected Lord’s, London
- Player of the Match: To be decided
- Captains: To be decided
Why the finals-only list matters
The WTC format rewards consistency across a cycle, but the winners list hinges on a single match with its own rhythm and weather, a single toss that can hardwire the first two sessions, and a single venue with personality and quirks. The world test championship winners by year—or more precisely, by cycle—therefore deserves a finals-focused treatment. Not just who won, but how they won, who called right at the toss, who shaped the game’s spine, and how the venue bent the script.
Season-by-season finals summary
Inaugural Final: New Zealand beat India at Southampton
Conditions and selection
The English south coast in early summer can often be a blunt sermon on seam and discipline. The strip at the Rose Bowl was true enough but wore a greenish tinge. Rest days and rain flirted with the schedule and ultimately forced the match to stretch into the reserve day. India backed a five‑bowler template with spin utility and batting depth; New Zealand leaned on their seam cartel and a deep understanding of English lengths, honed in county stints and regular tours.
The toss and its impact
India called correctly and chose to bat. It felt like a statement, but it also put immediate pressure on the top order against a new ball in heavy air. Batting first in English conditions is a wager; you race against the moving ball, hoping that run-scoring later will be even tougher.
The spell that swung it
Write the name Kyle Jamieson in bold ink when you recall this final. Tall, whippy, and relentlessly on a probing length, he made premium batters look mortal. His wobble-seam variants, used sparingly and precisely, turned good defensive techniques into pre-edges and feathered kisses. Jamieson’s five‑for in the first innings cracked India’s base, and his subsequent strikes foreshortened any second-innings fightback.
How New Zealand batted the game
Kane Williamson batted as if he had a candle burning inside a glass. No fuss. No rush. Deviations absorbed. He wasn’t chasing command; he built it. Ross Taylor, the team’s long-time middle-order heartbeat, located the tempo of the chase, took on the odd risk, and kept the field honest. New Zealand’s batters played late, watched the seam deviate through soft hands, and understood that a three‑minute lapse could cost the title.
India’s counterpunches and misses
India’s pace attack offered punch: Mohammed Shami’s late movement and fractured lengths were the best of the lot. He split the cordon often enough to signal danger. But the wickets didn’t clump in decisive bursts. Runs from Rishabh Pant were always going to be lightning; he found moments, but the match never fully tilted in India’s favor. The selection balance—leaning on a spin‑allrounder in conditions that muted spin’s threat—was debated then and debated since.
Key facts that matter
- Champions: New Zealand
- Runners-up: India
- Margin: Eight wickets
- Venue: Rose Bowl, Southampton
- Player of the Match: Kyle Jamieson
- Winning Captain: Kane Williamson
- Toss: India won, chose to bat
- Prize money: Winners’ purse announced by ICC at around one point six million US dollars; runners received around eight hundred thousand
- Umpires: ICC Elite Panel officials; Richard Illingworth featured prominently during this contest
What it taught us about WTC finals
English conditions narrow the gap between teams on paper and emphasize patience, length control, and the bravery to leave. In knockout cricket, leaving well becomes an offensive shot. New Zealand left better than India on that pitch. They also found more consistent seam movement with the ball and understood when to go short inside the corridor, not outside it.
Second Final: Australia beat India at The Oval
Conditions and selection
The Oval can bat like a runway on the first day and then wrinkle into an examination later. It offers pace and true bounce early, spins a touch late, and punishes complacency against the hard ball. Australia arrived with a seam battery matched to the deck and a batting group with two heavyweights primed for long-form dominance. India’s selection call that made the loudest noise was the omission of a champion off-spinner to accommodate a fourth seamer and a seam‑allrounder. The logic was understandable, the result heavily second‑guessed.
The elastic session that decided it
Travis Head walked in during a wobbly patch and wrested control in a handful of overs. His approach—front-foot conquering, off‑side piercings through point and cover, and a refusal to be fenced into a back-foot bubble—changed the energy around The Oval. He batted like a one-day renegade inside a Test blueprint. Steven Smith fused old-world orthodoxy with stillness and distilled experience, making shot selection look like a solved math problem. Together they stacked a match-defining partnership that drained India’s bowlers and oxygen from the contest.
The catch that stamped momentum
On the fourth day, Cameron Green’s diving, low take at gully to remove Shubman Gill sparked debate about grass contact. The on-field decision stood after the third umpire’s review, and whether you cheered or groaned, momentum sat in Australia’s pocket from that moment on. Finals are made of these small permanent markers.
Bowling that never blinked
Scott Boland is almost literature at this point—so understated it becomes poetry. A metronome on a driving line, he found nibble and bounce that punished any laziness in leaving. Pat Cummins captained through spells with clarity: fields set to squeeze singles and limit easy rotations, men posted in catcher positions that baited drives without offering freebies. The attack’s discipline was a coach’s blueprint: high percentage, low ego, ruthless in patience.
India’s resistance and relapse
Ajinkya Rahane did what Rahane does at The Oval—he found time at the crease. Shardul Thakur played with sprite energy and found runs that turned a collapse into resilience. But scoreboard pressure grew roots, and Australia never let their grip slacken. The chase was always a mirage unless someone produced a Head‑scale innings in blue.
Key facts that matter
- Champions: Australia
- Runners-up: India
- Margin: Two hundred nine runs
- Venue: The Oval, London
- Player of the Match: Travis Head
- Winning Captain: Pat Cummins
- Toss: Australia won, chose to bat
- Prize money: Winners earned approximately one point six million US dollars; runners received about eight hundred thousand
- Umpires: ICC Elite Panel officials; Richard Illingworth and Chris Gaffaney were central figures across the match
What it taught us about WTC finals
Even in a five‑day title match, teams must adapt minute by minute. Selection bravery must be matched by on-field flexibility, and intensity must sustain for entire sessions. Australia’s batting core set the terms, and their attack felt like gravity. For India, two finals, two second places—tough, yes, but a spur rather than a scar if they treat each selection puzzle as venue‑first, conditions‑first.
Next WTC Final at Lord’s: What to know right now
The next world test championship final is scheduled for Lord’s, the game’s most storied ground. Expect an early summer window, a Dukes ball, and a wicket that typically begins firm and then starts to misbehave—slightly two-paced, a shade of seam, and late matches sometimes offering spin on day four and five. The slope at Lord’s adds peculiarities: right-arm seamers love the angle into and across the right-hander, and left-armers will talk all day about drag and drift off that grade. Captains traditionally weigh bat-first instincts against morning cloud. In WTC context, a cloudy first morning has occasionally annulled even the best top orders.
Qualification scenarios are determined through the current cycle’s points table and percentage-based rankings. Two teams with the highest points percentage qualify; draws and over-rate penalties can sting more than fans realize. Keep an eye on the official standings and confirmed fixtures as they firm up over the coming months.
Prize money for the final is expected to remain in line with recent ICC announcements—winners’ purse around one point six million US dollars and significant runner-up prize money—though formal confirmation typically arrives closer to the match. Tickets and travel are seasonal storylines; official release windows and ballot processes at Lord’s tend to open well before match week.
Captains, Players of the Match, Prize Money, and Match Officials
Captains who lifted the mace
- Kane Williamson led New Zealand to the inaugural title with a masterclass in chase management and tactical calm. Williamson’s demeanour under clouds, his deceleration when the ball did strange things, and his refusal to chase narrative shots made the chase look more achievable than the surface suggested.
- Pat Cummins captained Australia to the next title with bowler’s intuition and fielding structures that spoke of clarity. He trusted his methods, adjusted lengths without theatrics, and captained the scoreboard: no set went unmanaged, no lull left to drift.
Players of the Match
- Kyle Jamieson, Southampton: Pace, bounce, and a length that kept batters guessing. He weaponised new-ball discipline and made Indian batters feel like guests in his corridor.
- Travis Head, The Oval: A counter-attacking hundred that turned the final. He took full toll on width and refused to be drawn into defensive paralysis. His innings shifted where the game lived.
Prize money
ICC set a substantial purse for the WTC final, signalling the event’s status. In the first two finals, the winners’ cheque was set at approximately one point six million US dollars, with around eight hundred thousand for the runners-up. The remaining prize pool filters down to teams based on table finish. Expect similar guardrails for the next final unless an updated ICC release says otherwise.
Umpires and match referee
ICC Elite Panel officials stand in WTC finals, maintaining neutral appointments. Richard Illingworth has been a recurring presence across finals, and Chris Gaffaney has also officiated on-field. Match referees from the ICC panel oversee code and conduct. While individual names can vary, the standard has been consistent: world-class officials, DRS with ball-tracking and hotspot technologies, and a conservative approach on marginal catches in line with protocol.
WTC winners list with score, venue, captains, and key match details
A narrative list for exam-ready recall without drowning in numbers:
- Inaugural title: New Zealand beat India by eight wickets at Southampton. Captains: Kane Williamson (NZ), Virat Kohli (IND). Player of the Match: Kyle Jamieson. Toss: India, bat. Weather interruptions forced use of the reserve day; seamers dominated; Williamson and Taylor anchored the chase. Prize money aligned with ICC’s top-tier bracket.
- Next title: Australia beat India by two hundred nine runs at The Oval. Captains: Pat Cummins (AUS), Rohit Sharma (IND). Player of the Match: Travis Head. Toss: Australia, bat. Early scoreboard bulk via Head and Smith; Australia’s seamers squeezed India into shot decisions; Cameron Green’s low catch became a talking point. Prize money in the winner’s bracket unchanged from the previous final.
Country-wise WTC champions list and finals record
- New Zealand: One title. First nation to lift the WTC mace. Signature traits: seam discipline, patience, batting that values the leave.
- Australia: One title. Dominant in their final; controlled sessions through relentless lines and early run mountain.
- India: Two finals, runner-up twice. Consistently among the top two in league play; still searching for the title. Known for heavyweight top order and versatile seamers; selection at English venues remains the talking point.
Which team has most WTC titles? At present, Australia and New Zealand share the lead with one each. The next final will break the tie—or amplify parity.
WTC finals, through the lens of tactics
Playing the toss
WTC final tosses have mattered. Under heavy sky with a new Dukes ball, batting carries risk; yet, batting first can also deliver dictation rights if a top order survives the morning wobble. India batted first in Southampton and found seam under lights and in sticky weather. Australia batted first at The Oval and turned favorable early conditions into a scoreboard that felt like a mountain from lunchtime on day two. Lesson: a WTC final toss is not about generic home-away biases; it’s about reading cloud, humidity, strip moisture, and the quality of your top three against the new ball.
Bowling blueprints
- Heavy seam, just short of a half-volley: Jamieson at Southampton, Boland at The Oval. The exact length is everything—too full and you get driven, too short and Test batters ride the bounce.
- Relentless accuracy: Finals reward bowlers who make batters play inside the same micro‑zone for spells at a time. Think McGrath doctrines revived in modern kits.
- Decision point overs: Champions identify overs twenty-five to forty with the second newness wearing off and still keep fields hunting for edges. That’s where the losing team often leaks momentum.
Batting blueprints
- Leave is king: In English finals, leaving outside off early is an attacking choice. It forces length adjustments, which stretch the margin for error later.
- Controlled counterattack: Head showed this at The Oval. Attack balls in your scoring arc, put seamers off their scoreboard plan, and the field starts to look different.
Fielding moments
World Test Championship finals have had one or two moments that feel like emotional hinges. Green’s gully take is one. Another is Williamson’s serene catch positioning during New Zealand’s chase—subtle, but every piece of calm reduces the room for chaos, and finals often slip into chaos when teams let them.
Squads, coaches, and selection narratives
New Zealand’s champion group was guided by Gary Stead, whose selection ethos marries conditions to core identity. Their seam quartet—Trent Boult’s shape, Tim Southee’s control, Jamieson’s bounce, and supporting options—was built for English air. Henry Nicholls, BJ Watling (in his farewell series window), and Ross Taylor underwrote batting stability; Devon Conway’s emergence across the English summer fed confidence into the top order.
Australia’s title team under Andrew McDonald looked like a peaking machine: Usman Khawaja and David Warner for starts, Marnus Labuschagne and Steven Smith as the ledger’s spine, Travis Head as the accelerant. The seam battery of Cummins, Boland, and Starc offered complementary angles: speed and heavy length from Cummins, seam‑nibble constancy from Boland, and aggressive fuller lengths with left-arm variation from Starc. Nathan Lyon’s footmarks and drift—even when not headline figures—warp batting decisions and let seamers rest without release.
India’s squads across the first two finals were powered by serious pace—Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Ishant Sharma at different points—and top‑order luminosity via Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara, and rising talent Shubman Gill. The seam‑spin balance remains India’s puzzle in England finals: pick the extra spinner for control and potentially late-game purchase, or pack the extra seamer to ride the new ball storm? Each choice demands exact reading of the strip.
WTC final venues list and what they add to the contest
Rose Bowl, Southampton
A modern ground with excellent drainage and practice facilities. The pitch can stay docile if sun-baked, but in overcast pockets it becomes seam-friendly. The outfield is quick. The breeze can mess with length perception. Perfect for a cautious first hour and then a measured build.
The Oval, London
Known as a batting haven early in high summer, with true bounce and value for shots through square on both sides. But it rewards teams that bat once, bat big. Later days often bring variable bounce and low, skiddy spin. Outfields are lightning. Captains must watch the first hour on day four like hawks.
Lord’s, London (expected)
The slope is a character all by itself. Right-armers can seam the ball up the slope and then use cross-seam into it to mess with batters’ triggers. Batting on day one can be a delight if the cloud is asleep; if clouds wake, slip cordons wake with them. The pavilion’s weight adds ceremony, and the title match at this venue will feel like history wearing a blazer.
These English venues add coherency to the WTC finale: an undeniably neutral stage, weather that remains a tactical character, and conditions that flatters discipline above star power.
FAQ: WTC winners list, quick answers you’ll actually remember
- Which team won the first World Test Championship?
- New Zealand.
- Who won the next WTC final?
- Australia.
- Where were the WTC finals played so far?
- Southampton and The Oval, with the next final scheduled for Lord’s.
- Who was Player of the Match in the WTC finals so far?
- Kyle Jamieson in the first final; Travis Head in the next.
- Which captains have lifted the WTC mace?
- Kane Williamson and Pat Cummins.
- How many times has India won the WTC?
- Not yet.
- Which team has the most WTC titles?
- Australia and New Zealand are level with one each.
- When is the next WTC final?
- Early English summer, with dates confirmed by ICC closer to the event.
- What is the WTC winners’ prize money?
- In recent finals, winners received around one point six million US dollars, with runners-up around eight hundred thousand.
WTC winners list in Hindi (finals-only, परीक्षाओं के लिए उपयोगी)
- प्रथम चक्र विजेता: न्यूज़ीलैंड; उपविजेता: भारत; अंतर: आठ विकेट; स्थल: साउथैम्प्टन; प्लेयर ऑफ द मैच: काइल जेमीसन; कप्तान: केन विलियमसन (विजेता), विराट कोहली (उपविजेता)
- अगला चक्र विजेता: ऑस्ट्रेलिया; उपविजेता: भारत; अंतर: दो सौ नौ रन; स्थल: द ओवल, लंदन; प्लेयर ऑफ द मैच: ट्रैविस हेड; कप्तान: पैट कमिंस (विजेता), रोहित शर्मा (उपविजेता)
- अगला फाइनल: लॉर्ड्स, लंदन में संभावित; परिणाम लंबित
Exam-ready condensation
If you need a crisp world test championship winners list for GK or placements:
- New Zealand won the first title at Southampton, by eight wickets, captain Kane Williamson, Player of the Match Kyle Jamieson.
- Australia won the next title at The Oval, by two hundred nine runs, captain Pat Cummins, Player of the Match Travis Head.
- Next final at Lord’s; result pending.
Tip for memory: S-O-L—Southampton, Oval, Lord’s—alphabetical and chronological by finals. Champions: NZ first, AUS next. India runners-up both times.
Best performers by discipline in finals
Top individual batting performances
- Travis Head’s match‑defining hundred at The Oval re-wrote the first innings; the momentum transferred to Australia and stayed there.
- Steven Smith’s composed ton in the same innings confirmed the runway; he tightened shot selection like screws.
- Kane Williamson’s finish in the chase at Southampton embodied final-winning calm; Ross Taylor’s hands were equally steady in the clinch.
- Ajinkya Rahane’s bravery under pressure at The Oval kept India’s spark alive longer than most expected.
Top individual bowling stretches
- Kyle Jamieson’s new-ball corridors at Southampton made world-class batters feel claustrophobic.
- Mohammed Shami’s seam movement in the same match was high art—less rewarded than it deserved, but unmissable.
- Scott Boland’s accuracy at The Oval was a case study in high‑percentage Test bowling; almost nothing wasted.
Fielding notes that mattered
- Green’s low gully catch changed a chase’s complexion, and with it, perhaps how a final will be remembered by fans in blue.
- Wicketkeeping under seam movement in England is an unsung craft; the clean takes in these finals prevented the leaks that can turn sessions.
What makes WTC finals different from a normal Test?
- Pressure geometry: Every decision carries multiplier effects. A bad half-hour with bat or ball has fewer innings left for repair.
- Toss weight: In multiple finals so far, the toss has directly shaped the first innings’ tone, which often becomes the game’s grammar.
- Selection magnifier: Dropping or picking one bowler can define two days. Fitness gambles become all‑or‑nothing.
- Session targets: Coaches plan “mini chases” by session. Scoreboard discipline matters more than flair. Teams that master the boring win the beautiful.
- Weather choreography: Cloud cover in England is not a cliché; it’s a participant. Bowlers ask to start when it arrives; batters learn to breathe through it.
WTC winners list table you can save
For those who want a compact printable snapshot, here is the finalists-at-a-glance in a single block you can save as a PDF.
- Inaugural Final: New Zealand beat India by eight wickets;
Venue: Rose Bowl, Southampton;
Player of the Match: Kyle Jamieson;
Captains: Kane Williamson and Virat Kohli;
Toss: India, bat;
Prize money: winners approx. USD 1.6m - Second Final: Australia beat India by two hundred nine runs;
Venue: The Oval, London;
Player of the Match: Travis Head;
Captains: Pat Cummins and Rohit Sharma;
Toss: Australia, bat;
Prize money: winners approx. USD 1.6m - Upcoming Final: Lord’s expected; details to be confirmed
Context that deepens the WTC winners list
A world test championship winners list reads like cold fact until you put it back into the texture of the sport. New Zealand’s title was a consequence of systemic planning: a national ecosystem aligned around red-ball craft, a captain comfortable with minimalism, and bowlers who trust a fourth‑stump life. Australia’s title flowed from bench strength and role clarity: batters knowing their method to score in England, seamers who never leave the corridor, and a captain who leads with precise fields rather than theatrical gestures.
India’s two runner-up finishes shouldn’t be misread. They reached both finals across two cycles that demanded away wins, adaptation across continents, and discipline in squad rotation. Their challenge has been threading the needle in the final’s single-match lens—more a science of conditions than a referendum on overall quality. The next final offers a familiar puzzle at Lord’s; solving it requires selection ruthlessness, toss‑time realism, and over-by-over stubbornness.
The WTC mace, still so young, has already settled into lore. It ensures every away tour matters beyond bilateral bragging rights. It makes over-rate penalties and slow-session drift costly—not in abstract points, but in the arithmetic of who reaches Lord’s. It guarantees that each cycle ends with a signature page in Test cricket’s album: rain‑shadow seam at Southampton, scoreboard dominance at The Oval, and a looming final at the Home of Cricket.
How to read the next final before it starts
- Watch the strip two days out: Grass thickness and live grass distribution tell you if lengths must be fuller or a shade short of good.
- Track the cloud forecast hour by hour: A morning ceiling can turn bat-first logic into bat-second wisdom.
- Listen to captains’ pre‑match phrasing: If “discipline” and “leave” pop up, seamers are chirping. If “carry” and “true surface” dominate, batting first gains weight.
- Identify the side with clearer role definitions: In finals, clarity is run-scoring. Head’s role was perfectly defined for Australia; New Zealand’s top order at Southampton had similarly crisp briefs.
- Count catching positions early overs: More catchers equals more ambition with the ball. Finals reward early ambition if it’s backed by control.
Data hygiene and maintenance
This page reflects official match outcomes and awardees, verified against ICC match archives and well-established statistical records. Final margins, venues, and Player of the Match recognitions are taken from the match reports of the governing body and corroborated by ball‑by‑ball databases. We refresh this winners list promptly after the next final, adjust prize money figures when ICC publishes updates, and retain past finals’ details unaltered for integrity.
If you save or print the wtc winners list table, revisit for changes before exams or features. WTC cycles do not repeat patterns reliably; squad form, injuries, weather, and points‑table dynamics can rearrange finalists quickly.
If you save or print the wtc winners list table, revisit for changes before exams or features. WTC cycles do not repeat patterns reliably; squad form, injuries, weather, and points‑table dynamics can rearrange finalists quickly.
