Test League a positive step, feels NZ skipper

Mumbai, Oct. 15: Visiting New Zealand team skipper Kane Williamson on Sunday hailed the decision of the International Cricket Council to introduce a Test League, terming it a “positive step”. The ICC is set to start a nine-team Test league and a 13 -team ODI league in 2019 and 2020 respectively, aiming to bring “context and meaning to bilateral cricket”.

In the first edition of the league, each side will play four home and four away series each comprising three ODIs, moving to all teams playing each other from the second cycle onwards.

Asked about the ICC's decision at a media conference here, Williamson said, “It's really a positive step forward to have to a championship to give Test cricket a little more meaning and it's great for the viewer as well.

“When we do start that, there will be a lot more clarity around rankings. The viewer can see where teams are progressing and what each game stands for. In the past, although Test cricket is the pinnacle of the game, we're probably guilty of having a volume of cricket that perhaps people haven't quite understood what relevance was on it, where teams went after victories or losses. Now, there will be a lot more clarity around that,” he explained further.

— PTI

It's really a positive step forward to have to a championship to give Test cricket a little more meaning and it's great for the viewer as well. — Kane Williamson