Christchurch: England's captain, Ben Stokes, mentioned on Thursday that his team doesn't have a specific strategy for the ICC World Test Championship during their matches, describing the competition as "completely perplexing" according to Widen.
Stokes' remarks were made before the first Test of the Thorpe-Crowe Trophy against New Zealand. In the ICC World Test Championship 2023-25, England is currently ranked sixth, while New Zealand is in fourth place. England has also finished in the same position in the last cycle of the tournament. This time, they have fallen out of the running for a chance to compete for the title at Lord's.
Stokes explained that his team prefers to focus on the immediate game and series, which doesn't match the tournament's long-term structure, with each cycle spanning three years.
"Honestly, the World Test Championship can be quite confusing; it's one of those competitions where, you know, we don't really pay attention to it, neither do I. It's one of those where, if you're playing exceptionally well and getting the results you want, you might find yourself in the final and in the mix," Stokes shared as reported by Wisden.
"For us, it's about playing game by game and series by series. If you find yourself in that World Test Championship final, it's great, but it's a bit strange knowing you're playing for something over such a long period."
"Honestly, I can't recall if I've ever spent any significant time actually thinking about the World Test Championship. It's just too confusing for me. We focus a lot more on cricket than anyone else does. That's what we're all about. If we play well, we'll probably be there, but if not, we won't make it," he said.
Under the leadership of Stokes, England has participated in 29 Test matches, securing 17 wins, losing 11, and drawing just one. The aggressive, goal-driven, and optimistic style of play under Stokes and his coach, Brendon McCullum, has split opinions among fans and critics. However, Stokes holds the second-highest win percentage among all England Test captains who have led in at least five matches.
His overall record has been marred by some unsuccessful tours in Asia, a 1-4 series defeat against England, and a 1-2 series loss to Pakistan.
England won the toss and chose to bat first. The Kiwis have scored over 200 runs in their first innings.
Teams:
New Zealand (Playing XI): Tom Latham (captain), Devon Conway, Kane Williamson, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell (w), Glenn Phillips, Nathan Smith, Tim Southee, Matt Henry, William ORourke
England (Playing XI): Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ollie Pope (w), Ben Stokes (captain), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Shoaib Bashir.
