Both India and New Zealand are evenly matched sides with good quality batsmen and bowlers at their disposal and there’s very little to separate them when they will come up against each other at the inaugural World Test Championship final in Southampton from June 18 but one of the quickest fast bowlers of his time Brett Lee believes Kiwis might have an advantage as they are more accustomed to conditions favourable for swing bowling.
“Well, it is a tough one (to predict the winner), you would have to see which bowlers can produce on this surface.”
“When you speak about the Indian Test line-up that will be on show; they have got some amazing talent as do the Kiwis. So, I think it is pretty evenly matched there.”
“I am thinking though with the experience of New Zealand because they have bowled in conditions which are similar back home, it may be conducive to fast bowling, to swing bowling. There will be a bit of something, it may be conducive to fast bowling, to swing bowling. So that is where I think that the Kiwis might have an advantage purely from that fact.”
“Now from a batting point of view, both sides have got batsmen that can play against swing bowling. But I think it comes down to bowling. I think whichever team bowls best will win the Test match final.”
The final at Ageas Bowl will see Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson battle for their first ICC trophy as the senior team captain and Lee said the two different styles of captaincy will make the final more interesting.
“They are different. Kane is a lot more conservative without being boring. He has got a great cricket brain. I admire his level of calmness. He is a conservative captain, but attacks when he needs to. And he attacks when he feels it is right. Because he is patient, and it works for him and his team.
“At the other side, Kohli is more of an aggressive captain. There is no right or wrong answer to any of these because I have played under captains who are conservative and captains who are too aggressive. But this is going to be a great opportunity to see which one comes out on top because they are different. At the end of the day, they are two amazing cricket brains. And that is what I respect. So yeah, it is going to be exciting to see who comes out on top!,” he said.
Speaking about the Hampshire Bowl as a venue for the final, Lee said the pitch at the neutral venue won’t be super-fast but will have enough for the bowlers. “I think that it will be a venue that will offer a lot from a pitching perspective, it is not a super-fast wicket. I think there will be enough there for the bowlers. But I just hope it is a nice playing surface, I think that that is what they will provide,” he added.