Published 14:52 IST, February 20th 2020
Kane Williamson calls this aspect of the World Test Championship unfair. Details here
New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson labelled one of the important aspects of the ICC World Test Championship as 'unfair' ahead of the 1st Test against India
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Kiwi skipper Kane Williamson said that the points system of the ongoing edition of the ICC World Test Championship (2019-2021) is unfair ahead of the first Test against India. As per points system, the value for each Test match win in the upcoming two-match series is 60 points per game. However, if it's an Ashes series, the value of a Test match win is reduced to 24 as there are five matches.
The other day, Williamson's Indian counterpart Virat Kohli had said that the World Test Championship should be right up there when it comes to ICC events. However, the New Zealand captain was not on the same page and had his reasons to criticize it.
'It's not perfect': Kane Williamson
"It's an interesting one. I guess there's an element to it that isn't fair. But I guess there is an effort in bringing context to Test cricket which wasn't there. So I mean the World Test Championship is a step in the right direction. "It's not perfect but I guess after the first year or two of it, there'll always be efforts to continue to make it a better product," Williamson was guarded in his criticism on the eve of the first Test.
Kane Williamson on the points system
Nonetheless, Williamson, who is one of the members of the 'Fab 4' in modern-day cricket said that the points system needs to be given some serious attention.
"It is a step in the right direction but there are so many parts to it that some teams playing five, some teams playing two, the difference in countries, there is just heaps of different parts to it that don't quite make the points of equal measure," said the Kiwi skipper.
"But we have all signed up for it and we are all keen to see how it unfolds and I'm sure it'll develop over time, he said.
It so happened that when New Zealand had hosted England in a two-match Test series in November-December 2019, the series was not a part of the ICC World Test Championship. Kane Williamson & Co. went on to win that series 1-0 after a convincing victory in the first Test and a stalemate in the second.
The Black Caps are currently at the six spot in the ICC World Test Championship with 60 points. They have just managed a solitary win in the five Tests that they have been a part of. The hosts come into this series after a 0-3 drubbing against Australia Down Under earlier this year.
(With PTI Inputs)
14:52 IST, February 20th 2020