WTC 2023-25 Standings After PAK vs ENG 1st Test: England Consolidate Fourth Place, Pakistan Drop to Last Spot

England consolidated their position in the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 standings after an innings and 47 runs win over Pakistan in the first Test at Multan Cricket Ground in Multan on Friday (October 11).

Jack Leach shone on his return after Joe Root and Harry Brook's record-breaking heroics as Ollie Pope-led England handed Shan Masood's Pakistan a hiding in the opening match of the three-Test series.

England position in WTC Standings after PAK vs ENG 1st Test in Multan

Opting to bat first, Pakistan rode on a trio of centuries from Abdullah Shafique (102), Shan Masood (151) and Salam Ali Agha (104) to past a mammoth first innings score of 556 all out.

The visitors did not shy away despite losing skipper Pope for a duck as they fought back through Zak Crawley (78) initially as the opener shared a century stand with Root (262), who went to share big partnerships with Ben Duckett (84) and Brook (317) to take England into a commanding position.

Root and Brook stand of 474 helped England post a massive total of 823/7 before they declared with a first innings lead of 267 runs. Down and out, Pakistan surrendered defeat in a Test which looked headed for a draw on the fourth day.

In their second innings, Pakistan were bundled out for 220 after Leach claimed 4 wickets and the pacer Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse and Chris Woakes also chipped in with wickets.

As a result of the innings victory in Multan, Sri Lanka remained on fourth spot in the WTC standings and kept slim hopes of challenging the current third-placed team Sri Lanka for a World Test Championship final spot.

With nine wins in 17 matches, England moved to 45.59 WTC win percentage, with their best possible points percentage of 57.95% keeping them at least mathematically alive for the Final at Lord's next year.

Pakistan dropped to ninth following their sixth defeat in eight Tests. The defeat saw their win percentage drop to 16.67, ruling them out of contention for the WTC final. Here is a look at the latest WTC standings:

WTC 2023-25 Standings After PAK vs ENG 1st Test on October 11, 2024

Team	Matches	Won	Lost	Drawn	Win Percent	Points
India	11	8	2	1	74.24	98
Australia	12	8	3	1	62.50	90
Sri Lanka	9	5	4	0	55.56	60
England	17	9	7	1	45.59	81
South Africa	6	2	3	1	38.89	28
New Zealand	8	3	5	0	37.50	36
Bangladesh	8	3	5	0	34.38	33
West Indies	9	1	6	2	18.52	20
Pakistan	8	2	6	0	16.67	16

England can further improve their chances of getting closer to the second and third spots in the remaining Tests, while Pakistan will hope to avoid finishing last after a top two spot is impossible now.

New Zealand also can improve their position next month, but face a monumental task of doing that as they face pace-setter India in their own backyard. India will face New Zealand in a home series from October 16.

Bangladesh and South Africa also will be locked in Test action later this month. Here is a look at the Test matches of the WTC 2023-25 cycle scheduled for the month of October: