New Zealand captain Kane Williamson (left) and fast bowler Tim Southee hold the World Test Championship Mace after victory. Photo / Photosport.co.nz
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson (left) and fast bowler Tim Southee hold the World Test Championship Mace after victory. Photo / Photosport.co.nz
Opinion:
New Zealand can celebrate its status as test world champions long and hard, but it remains to be seen if the Black Caps get a fair crack at defending their title.
The team will have partied long into the night after a momentous period for test cricket in ourcountry. A fantastic group of men deserve to savour every moment.
The World Test Championship final victory in Southampton has also set up a fascinating series in India where Virat Kohli's team will get an immediate chance to exact some revenge for a cricket obsessed nation.
I believe that test cricket, which has been on the back foot in the T20 age, is staging a significant recovery thanks to this new format, which culminated in the final between New Zealand and India.
Kane Williamson the New Zealand BlackCaps captain lifts the World Test Champions Mace surrounded by teammates. Photo / Photosport.co.nz
But attention will also turn on how to improve the next world championship cycle.
A fully equal fixtures list such as a home and away series between all teams is out of the question due to the financial inequities at play in the global game.
The closest we might get is a system whereby each team gets an equal number of counting matches, home and away.
And when it comes to the actual final, a series of two matches, home and away, would solve the neutral venue and weather conundrums.
Ross Taylor (left) and Kane Williamson leave the pitch after New Zealand had won the game New Zealand BlackCaps v India. Photo / Photosport.co.nz
However, finding a place for a month-long series in the current future tours programme would be a monumental feat. And that's assuming the Covid situation subsides to a point that contemplating this is even possible.
The pandemic and fickle English weather threatened to turn the final into a farce, but all the fears were washed away by a gripping final day.
Kane Williamson the New Zealand captain holds the World Test champions Mace surrounded by teammates New Zealand BlackCaps v India. Photo / Photosport.co.nz
It came alive on day five and the extra sixth day. The catalysts for victory could not have been more appropriate. The New Zealand seam attack has been absolutely outstanding during the WTC final, and knocked over the best batting lineup in the world on an ever-flattening wicket at the Hampshire Bowl. Then the rocks of our batting lineup, the Kiwi greats Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor, brought the win home, most fittingly.
On to India, where New Zealand has never achieved a series victory. What a challenge to look forward to for Williamson and his men.
Jimmy Neesham is a Black Caps veteran of 12 tests, 66 ODIs, and 29 international T20s - and one of world cricket's leading white-ball all-rounders.
