New Delhi [India], April 1 (ANI) Former New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson has backed calls related to the introduction of designated windows for international cricket. Williamson believes such a move could turn the World Test Championship (WTC) into a “more level competition”.
According to ESPNcricinfo, the International Cricket Committee’s cricket committee will consider proposals to tweak the WTC’s format. The meeting will be held in Zimbabwe later this month before the 2025-27 cycle’s commencement.
Williamson captained New Zealand to the WTC mace in the inaugural edition of the championship. He believes India, England and Australia playing far more games than the rest of the sides is not ideal.
“It comes back to scheduling. I love Test cricket and I’d love to see it stay and I’d love to see it be a pathway for young cricketers still, alongside the T20 format… If you can prioritise windows where teams are playing each other consistently and somewhat evenly, then I think it just makes it [the WTC] a slightly more level competition,” Williamson told ESPNcricinfo.
“The context now in Test cricket has certainly increased the effort and results. We don’t see draws any more, basically, in Test cricket, so every team’s pushing for a result when there’s something on it. For us as a country, winning the inaugural Test Championship final, it was really special and a great moment in our history,” he added.
South Africa stormed into the WTC final after playing just 12 Tests in the 2023-25 cycle, the joint-fewest of any team. There were sparks of criticism about South Africa’s route to the final against Australia.
“[Teams] get the cards that they are dealt and they try to make use of what’s in front of them, and take those opportunities Naturally, the fact that it’s different for each team is not ideal,” Williamson said.
“Any time you get the opportunity to review after a two-year Test Championship window, to try and tweak it a little bit, that’s fine. It’s still in its infancy, really, as a competition, so you’re always going to look at those things… It’s tricky though: there’s 12 months in a year, right? That’s difficult,” Williamson added. (ANI)
