WTC Points Table: How England's defeat to Sri Lanka impact their chances to the Final?

England's aspirations of reaching the 2025 World Test Championship (WTC) final have suffered a significant setback. Despite winning the series against Sri Lanka 2-1, their defeat in the third Test at The Oval has severely dented their chances.

England had been enjoying a successful home summer, securing a 3-0 series win against West Indies in July and triumphing in the first two Tests against Sri Lanka. However, an eight-wicket loss to Dhananjaya de Silva's team in the third Test has left them almost out of contention for the WTC final.

England Slip to Sixth Place in WTC Points Table

This defeat has caused England to drop to sixth place in the 2023-25 WTC standings, falling behind Sri Lanka. Under Ben Stokes' leadership, England has accumulated eight wins from 16 matches, resulting in a points percentage of 42.19%. In contrast, Sri Lanka holds fifth place with a slightly higher points percentage of 42.86%.

Team	PCT
1. India	68.52%
2. Australia	62.50%
3. New Zealand	50.00%
4. Bangladesh	45.83%
5. Sri Lanka	42.86%
6. England	42.19%
7. South Africa	38.89%
8. Pakistan	19.05%
9. West Indies	18.52%

Remaining Fixtures for England

The remaining fixtures for England include an away tour to Pakistan in October this year, where they will play 3 Tests. The final series is a tour of New Zealand where they will play a three-match Test series in November-December.

Can England Qualify for WTC 2025 Final?

England have won eight out of the 16 Test matches in this cycle, and have lost seven of them. Although the Three Lions have a chance to qualify for final, they will have to depend on other teams.

The Three Lions no longer control their destiny. Even if they win all six remaining Test matches, they can only achieve a maximum points percentage of 57.95%. This is still lower than India's current 68.52% and Australia's 62.50%.

If India win each of their five home Tests and loses all five away games in Australia, they will still finish above England. For Australia, winning four out of their remaining seven games will ensure they stay ahead of England.

The Proteas also pose a threat to England's qualification hopes. With the upcoming away series against Bangladesh and home assignments against South Africa and Sri Lanka, South Africa will surpass England if they win five out of six matches.

Lords is set to host the WTC final in 2025 for the third consecutive time. However, it appears highly unlikely that the home team will participate unless there is an extraordinary turn of events.