World Test Championship Preview

The first World Test Championship will see India take on New Zealand at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton, England on Friday 17 June 2021.

Going into this contest, New Zealand top the Test rankings at number 1 with 123 ranking points, while India are in second place, just two points behind on 121.

There is certainly speculation about the rankings, there always has been, and probably always will be. Add that on top of the debate around how to have a fair format for the WTC, and it’s clear there is certainly a lot of work to be done to close the gap in quality between the test playing nations. However, one thing that is indisputable, is that these two deserve to play in this final.

It’s also rightly been dubbed the battle of the two best captains in Test cricket right now, between Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson.

One is passionate, in-your-face, willing to show emotion and motivate his team through his body language on and off the field, while the other is a picture of calmness, thinking, patient and smart in his direction. These characteristics have helped both create identities for their sides that are thrilling to watch.

Both do come across as different characters, but they are both the key player to their teams’ set up, and as batsmen, if one gets out early for a low total, then the chances are that the bowling team will have the upper hand, especially in English conditions.

This means that the likes of Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah will be hoping they can get the ball to talk, but so will the New Zealand bowlers – who at the time of writing hadn’t announced their XI, unlike India. However, one would assume that Trent Boult and Tim Southee will at least be in the team, potentially joined by Neil Wagner and Kyle Jamieson.

India have gone with two spinners in Ravindra Jadeja and R Ashwin. It would be surprising if New Zealand picked two spinners, so already there is intrigue in how the pitch will play through the five days.

By playing the two spinners, India have decided to have five specialist batsmen, with Rishabh Pant following them. Regardless of how their top five go, it’s safe to say Pant will go all guns blazing, as we have become so used to seeing from the exhilarating young wicketkeeper-batsman in his short but successful career so far.

At the other end of the scale is BJ Watling, who is retiring from international cricket after this match. Watling is known for his measured approach, being more of an accumulator with the bat in comparison to Pant, but just as damaging in his own way.

There are individual battles across both teams, and that is what will make this match so intriguing.

Neither side are strangers to these conditions, with New Zealand having just beaten England 1-0 in a two-match series away from home.

India are set to play in England after this match, but they visited in 2018, and let’s not forget both teams were here for the 2019 ODI Men’s World Cup so both will feel relatively accustomed to conditions.

Rain is expected in the UK over the next few days, so there is a high chance we will have disruptions in play, or even a draw. That would be anticlimactic, but in an ironic way – for a number of reasons, maybe not entirely surprising if that is how the match concludes, we shall have to wait and see.

Weather is something cricketers have to deal with all over the world, but let’s hope it doesn’t interfere too much in this match, as this could be a fantastic contest to conclude the first World Test Championship between two teams that thoroughly deserve to be playing.