England captain Ben Stokes made shocking comments ahead of the first Test of the three-match series against New Zealand in away conditions. Ben Stokes said his team is not aiming to reach the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final, describing it as a “completely confusing” concept.
The World Test Championship was introduced in 2019 to give more context to Test matches. New Zealand won the inaugural WTC cycle (2019-2021) by defeating India in the final at Southampton in June 2021. Australia secured the title in the following cycle, beating India in the 2023 final at The Oval.
England out of the race for final WTC qualification next year
The England cricket team finished fourth in the first two editions of the World Test Championship. Now they have not been in the race to reach the finals of the current WTC cycle. They are currently in sixth place in the standings and are playing the sixth and final series of the cycle.
England’s defeats in consecutive away series against India and Pakistan have pushed them to sixth place in the WTC standings. Currently, India, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Sri Lanka are the teams still in the race for the top two spots to qualify for the final at Lord’s in London in June 2025.
We play a lot more cricket than anyone else – Ben Stokes
In a press conference ahead of the first Test between England and New Zealand, Ben Stokes emphasized that they will play in the WTC final if they perform well and consistently. Stokes admitted that he hasn’t spent much time thinking about the WTC concept.
“Honestly, the World Test Championship is a bit confusing, it’s one of those where, you know, we don’t really look at it, I don’t look at it. It’s one of those where over a long period of time ‘If you play really well cricket and you get the results you want, you will end up finding yourself there in the final and in the mix,” Stokes said.
“To be honest, I don’t remember if I’ve ever given myself time to think specifically about the World Test Championship because it’s completely confusing, we play a lot more cricket than anyone else, that’s just what we try and focus on, you know, if “We play well, we will be there more or less, but if we don’t, then we won’t be there,” he added.
It’s all about taking it game by game – Ben Stokes
Since becoming Test captain in mid-2022, Ben Stokes has led England to many victories in red-ball cricket. He said the team tackles each series one at a time. Stokes added that qualifying for the WTC final would be a great achievement, but playing for a long period of time seems really strange.
“For me and this team, it’s about taking match by match, series by series and if you end up finding yourself in the position you are in in the World Test Championship final then that’s great but it’s very strange to know that. you’re playing for something for a long period of time,” Stokes said.
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