Kane Williamson says New Zealand are “delighted” to be in the final of the ICC World Test and praised the two-year competition for its positive impact on the game.
On Tuesday, February 2, New Zealand became the first team to qualify for the WTC final in June after canceling Australia’s tour of South Africa.
The Black Caps currently sit in second place on the WTC stand, which is determined by the percentage of points available rather than the total points won.
This was not originally the case, with the ICC making the change in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which by 2020 shut down several WTC series.
The change in rules opened the door for several teams to make the final, including New Zealand.
Who will join New Zealand in the WTC final?
“It’s very exciting and (I’m) very happy with everyone,” Williamson said on Thursday of the New Zealand qualification for the final. “It recognizes a lot of hard work over the summer.
“Of course, COVID changed the certification a bit but it meant a number of teams were hunting. Coming into our summer it was going ‘right, if we win those four Trials, that gives us a chance to be there at Lord’.
“We managed to do that and play good cricket along the way and it’s very exciting to get the nod. The test people will be very pleased with that prospect. “
Williamson believes WTC’s moves have had a direct and positive impact on the recent test cricket played, reflecting the assertions made by his team over their summer and the co-op. an interesting closure to the Border-Gavaskar series in Australia.
“Because it’s such a long competition, when it starts you just focus as a group on the session ahead of you, the cricketing time that matters. You can’t look down the line. It just focuses on the cricket you have on hand.
“Then you go through what we’ve all been up to and the impact of COVID, and there has been a slight change in some of the certification criteria. You can then identify the best way to the final round.
“For us the four Tests were before us. Within those of you who saw you may have been some very fair statements because you understood that the carrot at the end was far more valuable than just this one cricket time. You really wanted to push for a chance to win.
“We also saw that in the Australia-India series in that last Test, which I thought was good for the game and we saw a lot of interesting test cricket as you got closer to to play in the final. ”
ICC World Test Tournament position
Who will be in New Zealand in the final will be decided by the results of the upcoming India-England Test series, with both those teams and Australia arguing.
Williamson said his team was not being pressured about who will face Lord in a decision and instead praised the efforts of all the teams that were still in controversy.
“It’s such a long competition and you really value the efforts of both sides, you respect the hard work that goes into trying to end in the final of the Test Tournament, so good luck to the remaining teams.
“The players are delighted to have the opportunity to play there. Whoever you play, it is. It’s the cricket they play, we’re just trying to control what we can control. ”