He last featured in a Test in December 2024.
Kane Williamson, the captain who led New Zealand to victory in the inaugural World Test Championship (WTC), has recently voiced his concerns over the current Test match scheduling.
The 35-year-old believes that a bilateral Test series should always consist of more matches to increase the contest between the sides. A red-ball series consisting of five fixtures, like The Ashes and the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) series, always adds much more value to the ancient format of the game. The most recent addition to the context has been the inaugural edition of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy.
All five matches of that series went till the last day to conclude, including the intense final at The Oval. Eventually, after 25 days of toil between the hosts England and a young Indian team, the fifth match sealed the hard-fought series in a draw.
“Two-match Test series aren’t ideal. I’ve played many for New Zealand and we always want more, but often this is the reality. I would love to see the Test game grow, with more opportunities for teams and countries to develop, but those are complex discussions,” he stated in an event in Mumbai on Tuesday.
The former Black Caps captain also supported the idea of introducing a two-tier approach in Tests. He felt that this would help the struggling teams to adapt the format better and gradually improve their rankings.
“There’s been a lot of discussion about the Test game and how to keep breathing life into it, especially in countries where it’s facing greater challenges. The concern with a potential two-tier system is how teams in the second tier can continue to improve and work their way up to the top division,” added the New Zealand former player.
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Previously, legendary South African batter AB de Villiers had also proposed a crucial tweak to ensure equal opportunities for all participating nations in the World Test Championship (WTC). He shared his thoughts shortly after the Proteas secured the WTC 2023–25.
“I still feel there’s work that needs to be done there to just to get it as consistent as possible and as fair as possible for all for all Test-playing nations. You want to get to that final feeling like you’ve played against all these nations,” he had said to BBC Sport.
Notably, the eventual winners had qualified for the summit clash with eight victories in 12 matches, while the two-time finalists, India, missed out on a place after eight defeats and two draws in 19 Test fixtures. England, which played the most matches in the 2023-25 cycle, finished in fifth spot with 11 victories in 22 clashes.
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