Christchurch, New Zealand

England Test captain and star all-rounder Ben Stokes said his team doesn’t think about the ‘utterly confusing’ World Test Championship (WTC) Finale. Ahead of the first day of the first Test between England and New Zealand at the Hagley Oval, Christchurch, Stokes addressed England’s failure to reach the summit clash in three editions now, saying his team’s philosophy is to take things ‘game by game and series by series.’

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England is placed sixth in the current WTC standings, while the Kiwis are fourth, with their chances of qualifying for the final higher than England’s. Although England’s ‘Bazball’ approach has been talked about a lot since it failed to guide the team to the WTC final despite them playing most Tests compared to other teams.

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Stokes said his aim remains to lead England to victory but admitted not thinking about the coveted WTC trophy, noting it’s a bit weird to continue playing for a tournament for a longer period. 

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"In all honesty, the World Test Championship, it is a bit confusing, it’s one of those where, you know, we don’t really look at it, I don’t look at it," Stokes said ahead of the series opener. "It’s one of those where, over a long period of time, if you’re playing really good cricket, you’re getting results that you want, you’ll end up finding yourself there in the final and in the mix.”

“For me and this team, it’s about taking it game by game, series by series, and if you end up finding yourself in the position where you happen to be in that World Test Championship Final, then it’s great, but it’s a real weird one knowing that you’re playing for something over a long period of time.”

“I can’t remember if I’ve ever even given any real time to be specifically thinking about the World Test Championship, to be honest, because it’s utterly confusing; we play a lot more cricket than anyone else does; that’s just what we try and focus on, you know, if we play well, we’ll be there or thereabouts, but if we don’t, then we won’t be,” Stokes continued. 

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What happened on day one?

England won the toss and elected to bowl first in Christchurch. They removed Devon Conway early on mere two before Kiwi captain Tom Latham and returning Kane Williamson kept the scoreboard ticking. Though the middle order provided support with handy contributions, New Zealand managed 319 for eight at stumps on day one. 

Williamson was New Zealand’s highest run-getter with 93 off 197 balls, while Shoaib Bashir picked four wickets, while seamers Gus Atkinson and Brydon Carse bagged two each. 

(With inputs from agencies)