One of the most popular sports in the world, cricket is played by more than 100 nations from all continents across the globe.

A game with plenty of rules and laws, cricket has a special jargon across its three formats that not everyone might be familiar with.

While a few of which pertain to types of dismissals such as Leg Before Wicket or LBW, others like PNG is a short form for a country.

Similarly, another cricketing abbreviation that has got cricketing fans wondering what it means is the usage of PCT in cricket. Here, we have a look at what PCT full form in cricket means.

PCT full form in cricket

An abbreviation used exclusively in Test cricket, the Points Percentage System (PCT) is utilised to decide the final standings of teams on the World Test Championship (WTC) points table.

The Percentage Points abbreviation plays a crucial role in determining a team’s position in the WTC tournament and eventually decides which two teams qualify for the final of the competition.

In Test cricket these days, all teams are awarded points for wins, losses, ties, and draws. A win earns a team 12 points, while a tie and a draw gives them 6 points and 4 points respectively and a loss results in 0 points. 

PCT is calculated after dividing the total value by the maximum value before multiplying the result by 100.

In the WTC, PCT is calculated by adding the total points of a team and then dividing it by the maximum points before eventually multiplying the result by 100. 

For example, if a team plays 10 matches in one WTC Test cycle, the concerned side can score a maximum of 120 points, considering you get 10 points for a win.

However, if the same team in question manages 80 points after 10 matches then their PCT would have been 66.66 based on the calculation of 80/120*100.

It’s also worth mentioning that a winning team may not get their full 12 points after a win if they are found guilty of a slow over rate, which results in teams being penalised with a deduction of a point. 

Apart from deciding which teams qualify for the WTC final, PCT also offers insights and indicators into a team’s form and chances of success, making it a handy metric to gauge how a side is performing and predicting its future showings.

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