The ICC Test Championship is a world test cricket championship organized by the International Cricket Council (ICC). Earlier matches were played between the cricketing nations and the nation who topped that year’s points table was awarded the mace (The Trophy). India won its first Test Championship in the 2009-2010 season.
However, since the 2019-2021 season, the winner of the championship is decided by the ‘World Test Championship Final’ match between the top two teams on the points table.
Here is the list of all the ICC Test Championship Winners.
1. 2001/02 - Australia
Australia won the inaugural season of the ICC test championship. Steve Waugh was the winning team’s captain.
In that season Australia won the Ashes series 4-1 against England. Then they played the Trans-Tasman series at home where 3 games were drawn against New Zealand.
Then Australia played a 3 Test match series at home against South Africa where the home team completely dominated and won all 3 Tests.
Australia also toured South Africa and won the 3 Test series 2-1.
Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne were a lethal combination for the champions.
2. 2002/03 – Australia
Australia retained the ICC Test Championship for the second year running. This was the second of the many more championship titles to come.
Australia whitewashed Pakistan in a 3-match series in Colombo and Sharjah. Shane Warne was the pick of the bowlers in this series.
Australia once again won 4-1 against England in the Ashes Series. Mathew Hayden was the top run-scorer.
3. 2003/04 – Australia
Australia won once again completing the hattrick of ICC Test Championships. And them being the first three championships shows their dominance in Test Cricket.
They defeated the West Indies in the 2003 Frank Worrell Trophy with a dominant series result of 3-1. Ricky Ponting was the top run-scorer in the series.
Then they defeated Bangladesh and Zimbabwe respectively on away tours.
Then Australia hosted India for a 3-match series which ended in a 1-1 draw. Steve Waugh retired after this series.
Under the captaincy of Ricky Ponting, Australia toured Sri Lanka and won the series 3-0.
4. 2004/05 – Australia
Australia won the title for the fourth time.
They hosted Sri Lanka for a 2-match series winning 1-0.
Then Australia toured India for the Border-Gavaskar Series and managed to regain the trophy with a 2-1 win.
Then Australia won successive series against New Zealand.
They also won against Pakistan in a 3-0 series whitewash. Glenn McGrath was the pick of the bowlers in the series.
5. 2005/06 – Australia
Once again, Australia won the championship.
They lost the Ashes series 2-1 against England. It was a series full of exciting matches which were fought very closely.
Australia played the ICC World XI and defeated them to showcase their brilliance.
Then they played the West Indies at home defeating them 3-0. They also played South Africa and defeated them 2-0. Ponting was leading the team and they were unstoppable.
Then Australia toured South Africa and won the series 3-0.
Ricky Ponting was named the ICC Player of the Year and Test Player of the year.
6. 2006/07 – Australia
Australia played only 7 Tests this season and won all of them.
They won their tour of Bangladesh.
Then Australia defeated England in the Ashes Series, dominating with a 5-0 series victory. Warne and McGrath were the picks of the bowlers in the series.
7. 2007/08 – Australia
Australia beat Sri Lanka at home again this time.
Then they hosted India and won the series. This series was filled with umpiring controversies and the ‘monkey-gate’ scandal involving Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds.
Australia then toured the West Indies and dominated with a 2-0 series victory.
8. 2008/09 – Australia
Eighth straight championship title for the Australians.
But this year saw the fall of Australia in Test cricket.
They lost the tour of India (the Border-Gavaskar trophy) in a humiliating 2-0 defeat. They struggled in the Indian conditions.
Then, Australia defeated New Zealand at home in a 2-0 series win.
Then they lost to South Africa at home losing the 3-match series. Later, they defeated South Africa 2-1 at their home.
9. 2009/10 – India
India won the ICC Test Championship. The Australian era of dominance was coming to an end.
India won a number of series in that season.
India showed their dominance under the leadership of M.S. Dhoni in the subcontinent. They won against Bangladesh 2-0 and Sri Lanka 2-0.
They tied with South Africa after losing the first Test.
Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Gautam Gambhir, and MS Dhoni led the Indian batting line-up.
In 2010, India tied the series 1-1 with South Africa.
10. 2010/11 – India
India retained the mace this season.
India toured Sri Lanka and managed to draw the challenging series.
They defeated Australia 2-0 at home to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Then they lost to New Zealand and South Africa.
11. 2011/2012 – England
England won the mace this season. They were the favorites for a long time now.
They defeated the Sri Lankans in a home series. Then they humiliated the winners of last season, winning another home series 4-0.
Then England suffered a whitewash at the hands of Pakistan (3-0) at UAE. Then they toured Sri Lanka and managed to tie the series 1-1.
12. 2012/13 - South Africa
South Africa won the title this season. They were undefeated in this season, dominating every series they played.
They toured England and handed them a humiliating 2-0 defeat in their backyard.
The Proteas went on to win against Australia 1-0 and then dominated New Zealand with a 2-0 series win in a home series.
Then they won against Pakistan 3-0 to end the season. Dale Steyn was the pick of the bowlers in this series.
13. 2013/14 - South Africa
South Africa retained the mace this season. But this was not an easy win for them.
First, they tied the series with Pakistan in UAE 1-1. Then they managed to win against India 1-0 in a home series.
Then they suffered a series of defeats from Australia at home. Australian pacer Mitchell Johnson’s brilliance was no match for the Proteas.
14. 2014/15 - South Africa
Third successive title. The Proteas showed their dominance and remained unbeaten this season.
First, they toured Sri Lanka and won the series 1-0. Then they defeated Zimbabwe in a one-off Test.
Then they showed their dominance against the West Indies with a 2-0 series win.
15. 2015/16 – Australia
Australia reclaimed the ICC test championship after 6 years.
First, they won an away series against the West Indies 2-0. Australian captain Steven Smith was the top scorer in the series.
Then they lost the Ashes Series against hosts England 3-2.
Then Australia won both the home and away series against New Zealand. Both the series were won 2-0.
16. 2016/17 – India
India won the title after 5 years. They played against all the teams in the subcontinent.
First, they defeated the Kiwis 3-0. Spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja were the picks of the bowlers.
Then they defeated England 4-0 who were considered favorites before the series. India also defeated Bangladesh in a one-off Test.
Then they hosted Australia and defeated them 2-1 to seal the series.
17. 2017/18 – India
India retained the title this season showing their brilliance this season of the ICC Test Championship too.
They toured Sri Lanka and handed the hosts a crushing 3-0 defeat. Then they hosted the Lankans and beat them 1-0 in a challenging series.
India toured South Africa and lost the series 2-1. They managed to stay at the top in the rankings and won the mace this season.
18. 2019/21 - New Zealand
This season, The ICC decided to make the Championship be contested in a tournament format. The teams would play series against each other for a period of 2 years. And then the top 2 teams at the end of the season will play in the final of the ICC test championship to claim the title.
This season the top two teams were New Zealand and India. They played the final at Rose Bowl, Southampton, England.
New Zealand came on top, defeating India by 8 wickets in a rain-affected match.
Conclusion
The ICC Test Championship is a coveted title with every Test-playing nation playing to win the mace. But the dominance of the top 5 teams – New Zealand, India, Australia, England, and South Africa – shows how cutthroat the competition has been. There are 10 competing nations but the title has been won by the top 5 teams only.
The exciting fixtures and the closely contested matches make the tournament very special. It makes the ICC Test Champion worthy of the respect they get.