India and New Zealand are poised to create cricketing history.
After almost 150 years of Test match cricket, the game’s longest format will be contested in a World Test Championship Final for the first time at the Ageas Bowl from Friday. A Championship that began with England and Australia’s 71st Ashes series in 2019, it has come down to the world’s two top ranked teams; New Zealand and India.
With differing paths to the Final, India has played 17 matches over the course of the Championship, six more than New Zealand; whose most recent series victory over England was not counted as part of the final standings. While the Kiwis started their campaign shakily with a 1-1 draw against Sri Lanka before suffering a 3-0 defeat to Australia, India were dominant from the first; their inaugural race to the mace beginning with seven straight victories.
Southampton will play host to cricketing history this week
Both nations enjoyed watershed victories throughout the championship. For India, it was glory down under – the sequel. Unlike Jaws or Caddyshack, this was sweeter the second-time around. Having beaten a weakened Australia on their home soil for the first time in 2018/19, this somehow meant more. A demonstration of both will and mind-boggling squad depth, India’s defiance in Australia over the New Year period increased their bona fides for a tilt at the mace.
Incidentally, it was against India in February of 2020 that New Zealand started to hit their straps in the Championship. Defeating the visitors 2-0, the Kiwis have not dropped a match since Kohli and co. arrived in the Land of the Long White Cloud. That series, too, heralded the arrival of Kyle Jamieson to the Test arena. Claiming four wickets on debut – including those of Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara – Jamieson has turned himself into one of the world’s most formidable bowlers; he now has 39 wickets to his name from just seven matches.
Beyond the teams’ recent records and the form of their players, it is the magnitude of the moment that bears thinking about in Southampton this week. Designed to give every Test and series added significance, the WTC has succeeded in its aim of “bring(ing) about more interest in Test cricket globally,” and the Final has rightly become a fulcrum of discussion and intrigue. To that end, the Championship’s inaugural Final carries a great deal of weight. Should it be a classic – a fine example of the game’s purest and most beautiful form – it has the potential to pave the way for future iterations and the holistic reinvigoration of Test cricket more broadly. Naturally, the reverse also applies. How’s that for gravitas?
Well, that plus a winners’ prize pool of US$1.6 million…
That we have made it to this point at all is a credit to the ICC. Adaptable and flexible throughout, they could hardly have dreamt up a more challenging two-year window to play an extended global event. The pandemic, which at various stages threatened to thwart the success of the Championship, has been well-handled. Ironically, it has actually left a positive legacy on the WTC; ICC acting CEO, Geoff Allardice recently announcing the amended points system – introduced as an equalising measure as a consequence of abandoned fixtures – is here to stay. So, having endured trial, tribulation and bio-secure bubble, the game’s first WTC has demonstrated cricket’s continued ability to endure. How fitting it is, then, that its inaugural Final will be contested by the world’s two best teams.
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Central to the fabric of the Bradman Museum, is former Patron, Richie Benaud’s wish that it gives precedence to the people and eras that changed that game. From Bradman himself, to Kerry Packer’s revolutionary World Series Cricket, the first Women’s World Cup in 1973 or its most recent t20 iteration here in Australia, the Museum is endlessly committed to celebrating cricket’s defining moments. Since 1989 we have used the game’s storied past to educate, inspire as well as inform our understanding of its future. So, in an era where the shorter forms of the game have evolved at a rapid rate and contributed – even taken a driving role – in increasing cricket’s global appeal, the WTC represents something of a stake in the ground for the development for the game.
Indeed, Sir Donald wished for “cricket to continue to flourish and spread its wings,” affirming that “the world can only be richer for it.” It is in this spirit that the WTC Final will be played, as India and New Zealand play in neutral England. The match will bring together legions of cricket supporters – though many not in person quite yet – highlighting cricket’s continued capacity to unite cultures, nations and peoples.
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The Bradman Foundation's mission is to realise Sir Donald Bradman's vision and to ensure that it is kept vibrant, youthful and relevant. We strive to inspire youth to develop character traits of courage, honour and humility; traits that lead to a better society amongst cricketing nations around the world.
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