New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson couldn’t contain his excitement regarding the World Test Championship.
Launched at the end of last month, the championship promises to be a competitive one. The world’s top nine ranked teams will battle it out over two years for a prestigious spot in the final at the iconic Lord’s.
Williamson has started afresh after his team’s heartbreaking loss to England in the World Cup. He is looking forward and believes that people will now start taking Test Cricket seriously.
“It’s a welcome addition to the Test format, bringing that context into every Test match that you play,” Williamson told reporters.
“Every time you play any team it’s very, competitive, but now there’s that added carrot where in two years time everyone is vying for an opportunity to play in a Test Championship final, which will be a really exciting thing to be a part of.”
New Zealand are currently occupying the second position in Tests. A 2-0 series triumph over Sri Lanka will help them overtake India and become the No. 1 Test side.
“If that happens, that would be great. The thing with rankings is that they fluctuate throughout a season, and are purely a reaction to the cricket that you’re playing,” said Williamson.
“For us, we’re just focused on cricket because that gives us the best chance of success. We’re looking forward to the challenge here against Sri Lanka,” he added.
The visitors will hope that the weather doesn’t betray them as it seems like ‘rain playing a spoilsport’ is very much on the cards.
“In the 10 or 12 days that we’ve been here, about eight of them have been rained out. It’s just one of those things that you try and prepare mentally as best as you can,” the right-hander signed off.
The Kiwis kick-started their World Test Championship campaign against Sri Lanka in Galle on Wednesday, August 14.
New Zealand won the toss and chose to bat. At the end of Day 1, they were 203/5.
